Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Mayor Winder

Mayor Winder talked about the challenge of balancing career and church assignments with the need to be involved in serving in your community and government. Describe how you will go about including community and government service in your life.

I am so happy to be a public relations major. I have actually been thinking about this over the past few months. Because of my major, I'm going to have a special skill set that will enable me to give advice to various groups. I look forward to serving with my children's PTSA. I want to be a leader in the community by offering my skills, free of charge, to some groups that could use some additional PR help, but that lack the budget to do so.


In Mayor Winder's research on the history of church leaders interactions with Presidents of the Untied States, one conclusion that has been apparent is the importance of good people serving in and around government. Identify ways that you can have that type of positive influence in both your community and nationally. Please include various ways in which you see yourself being able to lead.

Again, so grateful for my major. I look forward to my involvement with prominent companies and possibly the political scene. I see myself being a leader by practicing my profession with ethics. I want to be networked in a way that I can have an influence on the leaders of our country through my business. By being prominent in my profession, I will gain a respected voice in my community and possibly the nation.


As you evaluate your experience this year in a leadership role, describe what motivated you to make the commitment you have made in your year of service with BYUSA.

I was motivated to commit to this year of service with BYUSA by my sincere belief that I possessed a skill set that could impact our organization for good. I chose to be involved to reach out to others and show them what BYUSA really is.

I am so grateful for the time that I've had to learn in this organization. I would not be the person I am today had I not experienced more with BYUSA. I have been able explore different areas of business and, directly because of my experience here, discover a major that better fit my interest and passions.

I've been stretched- very thin at some points. I've dealt with disappointment, confusion and failure, but looking back on everything, I see triumph. I am so grateful that we have an organization on campus like this. While I was able to gain important skills and knowledge, ultimately, my greatest feeling comes from the greater connection I feel to this campus. I know that I've played an important role in reaching out to the one and helping others feel like they also have an important role to play.

Again, I am so grateful for the opportunity that I've had to experience more with BYUSA these last three years.

Sincerely,
Cierra Brooke Nye

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Dean Kau

"When we serve others we are not motivated by selfishness, but by charity." Please describe an experience where you have had the opportunity to be motivated by charity in your leadership experience.

This is a secret. If you know who I did this to, please don't tell him.

At the beginning of our BYUSA experience this year, I noticed a boy in our office had a backpack that was falling apart. I had just had my birthday and had some money left on gift cards to the Bookstore. Instead of buying something for myself, I decided to give to him. I bought the backpack and paid the difference and had the Bookstore box it up nice. I left it in the office with some people that could give it to him. I didn't want him to know it was me because the backpack wasn't about me. I just wanted to do something nice for him.

The next week I ran into him in the office just as he was leaving with his new backpack. I complimented him on it and he told me how he had no clue who it was from and how appreciative he was for it. He said that it could have been a backpack from any student on campus and how that made him want to be nicer to those around them.

This has been an experience that really stuck with me. Though it was a very small act on my part, I was able to have a very real impact on someone else next to me. I lifted where I stood. I don't have to knit blankets for people in Africa; I can perceive the needs of those around me and help where I can.


Why is it important for you to serve and lead now?

It is important that I serve and lead now because the things I do today will become my habits of the future. If I want to be that sort of person later on, I need to be working to incorporate it into my life today. I want service and leadership to be a part of my nature, that is why I strive to cultivate them today.


How will you prepare yourself to be ready for those unexpected opportunities to lead and serve, like the college students who saved the truck driver who had fallen off of the causeway?

I will continue to prepare myself to be ready for unexpected opportunities to lead and serve by having my life in order. If I am doing what I need to, I can be an instrument and attend to the needs of others. I'll also continue to follow the promptings of the Spirit. To be of aid to others, I need to be placing myself where I can be of help.