MBTI and True Colors Reflection

After taking the Myers Briggs Test, I tested to be an ENFJ. The description included;

"Warm, empathetic, responsive and responsible. Highly attuned to the emotions, needs, and motivations of others. Finds potential in everyone, wants to help others fulfill their potential. May act as a catalyst for individual and group growth. Loyal, responsive to praise and criticism. Sociable, facilitate others in a group, and provide inspiring leadership."

I identify with all of these things in the description. As a leader, and as a person, I always try to find the good in people, and I sincerely want others to succeed and be happy. Usually, I am also the person in a group that cannot sit at a stand-still. I need to jump start productivity and get the group moving towards it's goal. I am very outgoing and can reach out to nearly anybody, and usually can find some common ground with others to work on. I am a very emotional person and this is reflected in my passions, goals, and attitudes towards things. I'm not always sure whether this is a good or bad thing- but you can always be sure that if I'm committed to something, my heart is in it 100%.

Additionally, the true colors test proved me to be an Orange first, then Blue, then tied for Green and Gold. Orange's description included;

"Zest for life. Desire to test limits. Hunger for Variety. Excitement and light-heartedness. Spirit of Adventure. Entertaining others. Spontaneous Relationships. Impetuous nature. Crisis management skills. Charm and wit. Positive outlook."

Among the many keys to personal success addressed in this description, I find "excitement, positive outlook, and entertaining others" to be my biggest qualities. My view on leadership, and life in general, is that people should always enjoy what they are doing. I personally always try to stay excited and passionate about the cause that I am working towards. Likewise, I have a really hard time focusing on the negative. Although defeats and challenges need to be address, I do not feel that they need to be dwelled upon. I like to take things at face value, then move on. At the end of the day, stress and disappointment are always going to try and get in the way of goals. But my mentality is that if you choose to treat the stresses, etc. as challenges, it just turns the project into a fun goal again. I believe positivity is key to anything in life...if you're not having fun, or something doesn't make you happy, why bother with it!?

My Mission Statement

Homework Questions 1-2

Personal Mission Statement

1.                  My personality has been shaped by many different factors in my lifetime. The greatest of these would most likely be my gender, family life, opportunities/experiences, ethnicity and geographic location. Being a white female from rural/suburban Ohio, growing up I had a very limited view on what diversity was. I was only ever exposed to people that were just like me, considering I am from a very small town in Northeast Ohio. That being said, I had a very clear idea of what it meant to be a part of a community, which, unfortunately, many other people do not. Community, staying true to its definition, is a group of people having shared location, experiences, interests, etc. or more specifically, a unified body of people. Chesterland, Ohio is just that- a community. Nearly everybody knew their neighbors and knew what was going on in the local schools. Everybody took pride in the high school football team, and read the local newspaper (Geauga Sun). Needless to say, most of us kids growing up were genuinely good kids. There wasn’t much trouble to get into, and everyone knew that if they did do something bad, it was only a matter of time until word got around and back to their parents somehow. Additionally, Chesterland is a fairly well off area, so the school district had enough money to provide unique opportunities to their students. I participated in lots of sports and lots of leadership camps because my school was able to provide those opportunities to me. Luckily, my family was also able to afford to send me to college, which is an opportunity that many other people also do not get.
            My family life and ethnicity have also intensely shaped my personality and learning preferences. I come from a real close-knit, Italian, Polish, and Irish family. So to say that we are loud and rich in tradition is a severe understatement. When I was younger I was almost always the quiet, soft-spoken, sweet one of my 9 other female cousins, but as we all got older, we realized that quiet was never going to work in this family. So being loud, outspoken and humorous, became a family trait that now all of us possess. Not to say that we don’t have our subtle differences, but our personalities are all most nearly the same; which makes us close-knit and able to relate to one another so well. It also makes family get togethers pretty fun.

2.                  My own personal mission statement would be difficult to write if I didn’t have a clear sense of who I am as a person, which is constantly changing because my life experiences alter aspects of that. But here is what I’ve got so far;

My purpose is to contribute to the world what I can with the talents that I have, both given and learned. I want to help others in any way that I can, be it in a career, daily encounters, or otherwise. I vow to stay true to my values and myself; those values being that of honesty, kindness, and traditions. Quoting a line from the mission statement of my sorority, Alpha Gamma Delta, I aim “to honor my home, my country, and my religious faith…to hold truth inviolable, sincerity essential, and kindness invaluable.”

My Leadership Inspiration

CLARA BARTON

Clara Barton, among many, many other leaders, has served as an inspiration for me. As the founder of the American Red Cross (arguably the largest, not-for-profit organization in America), she was one of the first women leaders in the nation. Back in 1800s, when the Civil War was in full swing, she decided to do what many women had already been doing- aiding the wounded soldiers. However, Clara wanted to do more. So she began to help the wounded not only in the infirmary, but also on the front lines of battle; a cause that quickly caught fire and several other people (men and women alike) began to aid in this effort. She became known as the "Angel of the Battlefield." 

Post war, Clara ran the "Office of Missing Soldiers," once again which was uncharted territory up until this point in time. This organization helped track missing soldiers and notify the families as soon as they were either found, or identified and pronounced dead in the infirmary. This was a huge task, because most bodies were left on the battlefields and were unidentifiable and/or went missing all together and many families never knew the whereabouts or outcomes of their loved ones. 

Clearly, Barton really found her passion in leadership and aiding in wartime effort. So she attended many conferences (including the Geneva Convention in Switzerland), and learned of the Red Cross movement- a neutral society that provides relief in times of crisis (i.e. wartime, natural disasters, etc.). In 1873, she took on the project of creating a chapter of this society in the United States. After much compromise and collaboration with the U.S Government, the American Red Cross officially became an established society just 8 short years later in 1881. Clara was appointed as president and founder- what an accomplishment.

In addition to all of this, prior to her wartime service, Clara had served as a teacher. After pursuing higher education (in language and writing) in New York, she decided to open the first free school in New Jersey because of her passion for teaching and helping others. Around 600 people attended this school during Clara's leadership, however when it came time to appoint a 'principal' (so to speak), the board elected a man instead of Clara, simply because he was a man. Despite this set back, Clara pursued new territory, instead of giving up on leadership all together. She moved to Washington D.C and was hired at the U.S Patent Office- making her the first ever woman to hold a government job. 

Clara is not only an inspiration to all leaders, but a true icon for the women's suffrage movement and for women as leaders. She went from being denied a a principal position at a school she founded, to being the president and founder of an organization that grew to be one of the largest nonprofit organizations that this country has ever seen. She is the epitome of leadership in that she never gave up on her vision. Despite setbacks that she faced, she innovated and adjusted her approaches and geared her efforts in a different direction until she achieved what she wanted to. She was always true to herself and her goals, and persevered even when it seemed that life would throw every obstacle at her. She also wasn't afraid to be different or to receive criticism- in her mind, these made her a better leader; and indeed they did.  

What Does It Mean to Be A Social Entrepreneur?...what a loaded question

Well friends, this post is summarized all in the title. What does it actually mean to be a social entrepreneur? I don't have a clear cut answer for you because I find it to be a title that can apply to anybody- it just has different meaning for everybody. However, I can offer you some insight into my thoughts on the subject.

High school, in hindsight, I imagine is when this whole concept of social entrepreneurship began to apply to me. I had always been involved, simply because that is what I was good at. I was good at taking plans or ideas and putting them into action. This really came to light when I, on a whim, decided to run for Vice President of senior class. Leading my peers was just something that came naturally, as it still does.

So fast forward three years, and here I am today reflecting on my college experience thus far. As a third year college student, I assume that my college experience has been very similar to many others. I've switched my major and my "future plan" (whatever that means anyway) approximately 4 or 5 times. I transferred from Miami University after my freshman year, and came into Ohio State knowing nobody. As a side note, meeting people has never been hard for me. I'm generally very outgoing and can relate to people pretty easily. But when I found myself at a school of 50,000+ students, most of which had already established friend groups/ been involved in clubs (activities that many freshman do together in their dorms, etc.), I was really unsure of how I was actually going to meet people. I realize how big of an oxymoron this is- there was nothing but people around me, yet I still wasn't sure how to meet any of them. So I waited about a week or two, still adjusting to my class schedule and my long walks to class, all the while contemplating what my next move would be. Before I knew it, I had joined three clubs- just because I could. Because my crazy self likes to be involved in about 1,200 things at once, and just being a general member of these groups would eventually not be enough for me, I decided to run for an executive position within my sorority and took leadership positions in two other organizations as well. And here I am today- a constantly stressed, overly involved, maximum-credit-taking nut. And I like it. What is wrong with me?

To make a long story even longer, I have come to realize (after more than a healthy amount of mental breakdowns) that no two life paths are the same. And that is the wonderful, awful, maddening, and awesome part of life. Because I have accepted this fact, I have become a very flexible leader. I think my strong suit in any leadership position is my ability to adjust when needed. Naturally, I was born a creative problem solver: when someone is sad, I find a way to fix it; when a plan doesn't work, I find a new one; when studying gets boring, I make up a game.

I think my natural inclination to come up with creative ways to solve problems as I see them, combined with my acquired world view and experiences has refined my abilities as a social entrepreneur. These traits are what I bring to the leadership table. Since they are entirely unique when combined with my world perspectives, this makes me a social entrepreneur. I may not always come up with the ideas that need to be implemented, but I can find a way to work with others to turn their ideas into action. And I can dodge many bumps in the road along the way- all while having fun doing it. Leadership is what I am passionate about, and that over all else, is what makes me a social entrepreneur.

Introductory post

Hi guys!

My name is Sarah Emily Rust. I am a junior here at THE Ohio State University. I'm a Public Health sociology major, and an intern with the American Red Cross. I'm also in Alpha Gamma Delta- a social sorority here on campus. I serve as Vice President of Campus Relations for Alpha Gam. I have a pretty cool Italian-Polish family at home in Chesterland (east of Cleveland). Fun fact, my great-grandma is 101 years old and still watches every single Indians game. I guess you could call her a die hard fan.

As far as leadership goes, I've been involved in leadership roles for as long as I can remember. Back in 7th grade I got involved with a peer leadership group called Teen Institute, which served as a positive influence group. I continued with this group through high school. We covered topics (and presented to our peers) the dangers of drugs and alcohol among other things. I was in marching band all 4 years of high school and was a squad leader for 2 of those years. Which made me top band geek I suppose- haha. I loved every second of it, and I really miss those Friday night games. Lastly, I served as Vice President of senior class. That was a fun experience. We planned prom and did fundraising for that, among plenty of other things. When college rolled around, I was pretty active in my dorm hall council and did Big Brothers Big Sisters (at Miami University, my freshman year). Since then and here at OSU, I've joined a sorority, a professional fraternity (Phi Delta Epsilon), and several other groups on campus, including Buckeyethon, the American Red Cross Club and Buckeyes for Public Health. I kinda like being busy.

With this class, I would like to better my professional leadership skills. I've always been able to be a leader for peers instead of a follower, however I would like to take the next step to being able to lead in a professional setting. For example, having an executive position within my sorority has pushed me to be able to lead and make executive decisions for the betterment of the organization, but I would like to hone those skills some more. I'm also looking forward to meeting all of the other leaders in this class, and learning more about their leadership styles!

Peace, Love and GO BUCKS! <3,

Sarah Emily.