This workshop was a phenomenal experience. For those who have not had an opportunity to go to the Columbus Museum of Art, or for that matter your local art museum, GO! We convened at the CMA around 5:30, eating dinner and beginning to discuss our Leadership Challenge for this semester. Finishing in a timely manner, we were granted the opportunity to tour the museum for a short moment. When we walked in, we were given felt hearts (in honor of the great Valentine’s Day), to place in front of “a work of art you love.”

It was in a relatively new exhibit that I found myself entranced. The exhibit consisted of photos captured via mobile photography (picked up by newsweek here), and the results were fascinating. Each image was filled with stories and narratives that came together in this hall. The emotion and vibes captured by the exhibit were certainly a perfect start for our creativity workshop.

We were given a presentation by two awesome Columbus Museum of Art employees, first about the museum, and its renovation and forward thinking changes (the museum is moving in a direction promoting creativity and innovation in the community). We then learned about the measures of creativity: fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration. A helpful analogy connecting these measures to Legos, transitioning the discussion towards the Lego movie. I identified strongly with this movie, not only as a Lego fan, but I identified with several of the messages: that we can all be creative, that we are all “master builders,”and breaking from societal/educational/systematic role playing (for another time). We closed by spending 30 minutes participating in a creative exercise, where students randomly pulled action cards, and were tasked with using props and people to do whatever the card dictated. Each fellow was simultaneously performing actions from the cards and rewriting new cards for fellows to pick, and the situation quickly proceeded into utter hilarity. During the 30 minutes, I performed a dance number, built a fire to roast marshmallows, wrote a haiku, At the conclusion of the game, I had likely written 30 tasks, and had just drawn the card with only the word “Photosynthesis.” Brilliance.

At current, our junior cohort of the Buckeye Leadership Fellows is beginning a Thank a Donor Day leadership challenge. Within this challenge, we are working with faculty around the University to help create and foster an elite stewardship experience for our donors. I am serving on two committees, a video committee and a culture change committee, and this workshop has provided meaningful experience for both roles. For the video committee, the workshop helped to establish a creative lens and encourage innovation, in a sense, a commitment to new ideas and new ways of thinking. The same goes for the culture change committee, but perhaps on a much larger scale. Our group has visions of initiating change in Ohio State students’ perspectives and representations of our donors. Accomplishing these goals will require innovation and thinking outside the box, or perhaps imaging the box does not exist, as we have learned at this workshop with the Columbus Museum of Art.

As amusing and belly-laughingly funny the day was, I was able to take away several great points from the workshop. I was affirmed in my belief that everyone can be creative, and failing to believe so will only limit you. It was also comforting to see a strength of mine in dealing with ambiguity, as I was unafraid of whatever our workshop administrators were going to throw at us. Nearly all 20 fellows showed visible nerve and opposition to what ended up being a hypothetical task that we were to create a Lego structure representing metaphor. We learned to be open to creativity, to create cooperatively, and to continue working to strengthen our creative abilities.

I am excited for our follow up experience at the CMA, and again, if you get the chance to go, do not miss out. The mobile photo exhibit I referenced will be available through March 28, 2015! Get out and be creative!

With new and unfamiliar names flying around the room, it was nearing my turn to name all of the fellows in the room, all 60 of us. Instead of panicking, I jokingly attempt to slither out of the room in an attempt to find solitude and escape  in the third floor men’s bathroom. I was caught evading, as my stealth was comparable with that of an angry elephant. Nevertheless, I successfully recalled each name, and we were subsequently prompted with the follow up remark, “share something unique about you.” After minimal reflection, I was able to confidently say that “I’m Jay Jackson, a third year studying Neuroscience and French, and I will get to know all 60 of you in this room.” Perhaps a mighty and daunting task, but I have made mighty progress, exciting results. For me, a great benefit of the Buckeye Leadership Fellows program has involved creating and maintaining community, a community centered around growth and personal relationships.

The five hour retreat was certainly multifaceted, yet I would like to focus on two moments from the day.

During my second round of a Panera boxed lunch, we sat as a junior cohort, and had student-initiated discussion on each individual’s purpose for being in BLF and focus for the upcoming semester. These were difficult topics, as many struggle with why they are a part of this transformative program, or perhaps why they were selected for this transcending program. My reply comes full circle, as a big part of my answer is summed up with one word: fire. I am a part of BLF (and The Ohio State University) because of the spark I bring, the passion embodied by the fire, the flame that hesitates to flicker, the brightness of the fire, and the warmth of the flame. This fire, for me, is what I hope to bring to the rest of my time at Ohio State; I will have an energy that refuses to burn out, an energy that will spread like wildfire, and bring growth to this community and immense personal growth.

There were other important things of the day, like introductions of the sophomore class, semester presentations from fellows, Einstein’s logic puzzle, etc. I focus instead on our discussion of the BLF mission, vision and values. I am attaching a media link of a document highlighting this page, but it was our discussion that made these meaningful. Each value illustrates the importance of personal, professional, and leadership development to our program. It is through these values that I find and can express growth, and I can distinctly identify with each value, as each goes hand in hand. I hope to continue to live out our mission, to realize [and achieve] my potential and make a positive impact on society.

Link: BLF Program Overview