Recently, the ETSU Multicultural Center hosted a seminar on leadership and personal and professional development. While I was not able to attend this seminar myself, I think it is great that events like this are being offered. Leadership seems to be one of the most important qualities employers want to see in candidates, so it is important to get the opportunity to develop leadership skills early.
In high school, I attended a leadership camp through my marching band, but I have not attended anything like it since. However, hearing of this seminar made me think about my own development since I started college. I have definitely grown significantly on a personal and professional level since my freshman year of college. By attending classes, I have become a better writer, reader and overall thinker both academically and in life in general.
Along with that, I discovered my desired career path and became a double-major to pursue it. On a personal level, I have grown to overcome some of my fears. I am someone who frequently gets anxiety from any sort of public speaking and when dealing with unfamiliar events and people.
This means I am often shy and very nervous speaking to new people or groups of people, which can make it really difficult to network or feel comfortable in any situation that is remotely unfamiliar. This in turn makes it difficult to feel confident that I will be successful in any career.
While I do not think I will ever be able to fully overcome this anxiety, I have definitely made progress in the last couple years, and I feel more capable of succeeding in a professional setting than I did before. A major component in leadership is communication, and that is something I have definitely gotten better at.
With it being such a challenging couple of years, it is important to give ourselves credit for our progress and accomplishments, no matter how small. After thinking about it, I think most people will be able to recognize their own leaderships skills and progress over the past few years.
