My signature STEP project was a study abroad trip to Australia and Fiji this past May. This adventure taught me more about leadership theories and styles. It also allowed me to explore a different part of the world with a great group of people.

Being from Lake Villa, IL (a small suburb of Chicago), I grew up with limited view of the world, mostly the influences of television and books that made the world seem like pictures posted together instead of this huge place. Sure, I had traveled before, but nowhere near as far as Australia. It was things like seeing the sky from a different hemisphere that put the vastness of the world in perspective. Another part of this trip that changed my perspective of the world was the time difference. Not only did the time difference force me to strengthen my communication skills, but also it was strange to think that while I was hiking the Blue Mountains, my friends and family back home were fast asleep. Another change that I experienced on this trip was developing my leadership techniques. Throughout the trip we had roles like cook, leader of the day, motivator, etc. Each role required me to adapt my leadership because sometimes the best leadership tactic is to be attentive and to listen to others and help them carry out their ideas. This trip allowed me to refine my leadership style and taught me to identify leadership styles of others in order to work better with others. This trip also taught me to try new things and be open to different opportunities.

There were two distinct times on this trip in which I felt the vastness of the world. One was the plane ride there. We were on the largest plane I’ve ever been on for 11 hours with people we didn’t know. It was a slightly terrifying, but mostly exhilarating feeling because I was completely out of my comfort zone and flying halfway across the world. The other time in which I realized the sheer size of the world was when we were in the Blue Mountains and were at the bottom of this extremely tall waterfall and one of the trip leaders pointed up and said “time to climb up there.” And so with legs like pistons, we made it to the top. These experiences showed me how big the world is and how much there still left to explore and learn.

This trip was organized by the OAC and had a primary focus on leadership. As mentioned previously, we were given different roles everyday. We also researched different leadership theories and presented them to the group. Finally, through group meetings and teambuilding exercises we were able to see leadership techniques in action. The roles everyday let us lead in different ways. For example, one of the jobs was to be “mom/dad” and remind people to hydrate and wear sunscreen. The ideal attributes for this role were to be caring and responsible. Some of the leadership topics included Leave No Trace, Situational Leadership, and Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. Elements of all these topics were observed during the trip. My presentation revolved around authentic leadership and how leadership can consist of bits and pieces of each of these topics to be genuine and effective. Lastly, we did lots of teambuilding exercises and although some may have been a tad cheesy, they were beneficial for getting to know other people on the trip and also increased self-awareness. The most impactful was when everyone created I-am-from poems and shared them on the ferry. I still use a lot of the information that I learned about leadership from this trip in everyday life.

Being in a new place with new people creates an atmosphere of trying new things. The amount of fruit that I tried in Cairns was remarkable. Although some were better than others, it showed me that experiencing strange things is how the best things are found. Also all the people I met during this trip were fantastic and I am glad that I met them through this trip and was able to experience Australia and Fiji with them.

I believe that the best way to grow as a person is to live through different experiences. My adventures in Australia and Fiji have broadened my perspective, strengthened my leadership, and challenged me to be open to new things. As an RA, the leadership techniques are extremely relevant and I’m aware of using them on a daily basis. Personally, I have always wanted to travel and see the world, now having done it, I know that I will want to continue exploring and discovering new places. STEP has truly allowed me to widen my vision of the world and has nourished my desire to travel.