"Dr. [Martin Luther] King gave the 'I have a dream' speech, not the 'I have a plan' speech." What are the why's in your life? I am motivated by my inquisitiveness to discover the world around me and to pursue knowledge in diverse fields so that I can grow holistically. My desire to work for something beyond myself has pushed me to serve my community and to think about more than my personal satisfaction when taking action. My faith has kept me grounded in purifying my intentions and my strong network of support has enabled me to rise to leadership when I know that I can contribute to effective and beneficial change. Why did you pursue higher education? Higher education has always been the end goal for me. From a young age, I knew that I wanted to be a physician of the same make as my grandfather. I knew even then that in order to become the doctor that I sought to be, I would have to pursue higher education. More recently, I have cemented my desire to pursue higher education, and my specific course of study, after some soul searching and introspection. Alongside my fascination with medicine and science, I am absolutely enamored with linguistics, religious and cultural studies, and politics. This passion was grown by my participation on the Speech and Debate Team while in high school and in the many cultural and community-based activities that I also engaged in. Ultimately, a collegiate experience will supply me with the resources to pursue my medical path while also exploring and discovering other interests like the ones outlined above. Personal Value Proposition: My passion is to explore the world around me to discover new insights that will enable me to create positive lasting change. I develop interests as I uncover new and interesting fields, and use what I learn to provide a holistic understanding as to the impacts that I can make on my community and my world. With this comprehensive view and a grounding in my faith, I work for something beyond myself as I lead and serve to bring health, safety, and happiness to those around me. Goals To Accomplish this Semester: Make more time for my family. Concentrate my free time on doing things that are enjoyable, but also productive. Focus on my faith and reaffirm the motivations I have for doing the things that I do. Develop a more structured schedule that focuses times on development in academics, health, and spirituality, and that allows for fewer wasted hours. | In this week's first ALDP session, we focused on the why behind the things that we do. From a TED Talk by Simon Sinek, we learned that the motivation behind our actions is what defines the perception of these actions in the eyes of others. Sinek highlighted that great leaders inspire action by focusing on the passions and beliefs that guide the steps they take. It is not enough to tell someone what you do or how you go about doing it--this will not capture their attention and embolden them to join you. Rather, it is the reason behind what you do, the driving force that wakes you up every morning, that draws people in and makes them support you in your goals. With this learning in mind, our reflective task for the week is to focus on the "whys" behind important questions in our lives. Moving forward, answers to these questions will help shape our learning in the program and our development as leaders in the future. Why did you choose UC? UC has so many great resources that make it an amazing and engaging place to go to school that when I really got to know the university, it was a no-brainer to choose it as my new home. With both a small community made strong by a tightly-packed campus and amazing student engagement, and all the opportunities provided by a top 25 public research university, the University of Cincinnati brings the best of both worlds to the forefront. Whether it is the student-centered mindset of President Ono and his fellow administrators, the top tier athletics, or the world-class architecture, every aspect of our university provides an additional opportunity to be thankful to be part of such a developing, innovative school. In addition, UC is also a melting pot for the best and brightest students from disciplines across the academic spectrum. With globally-renowned music and design schools, a college of law which produced a US President, and an academic medical center that contains the third best children's hospital in the nation, students from all majors and interest areas can find their place and succeed. This success is spurred on by our support system in the Bearcat community that pushes students to develop themselves and provides them the guidance and resources necessary to do so. Why did you join ROAR? As the son of two UC employees, I spent most of my childhood taking for granted the amazing opportunities that our university has to offer. In my mind, the University of Cincinnati was just a place where my parents went to work everyday, not the home that it has now become for me. For that reason, when I began the application process for universities, I never strongly considered UC as my final destination. I did, however, keep UC on the list of schools to apply to, if only for my parents. Fortunately, I kept UC on the list long enough to actually take a formal tour of campus. This is when my entire perspective on being a Bearcat changed. Before my tour, I had been to campus more than a dozen different times and perceived it as being unexciting--much as any son or daughter might look at their parents' place of employment. What I did not realize at the time was how vibrant and engaging a campus UC actually was. It was because of the passion and information provided by my ROAR Guide that I decided to become a Bearcat. In fact, I actually took three formal tours over the course of the year because of how much I enjoyed my campus visit experience. Now I want to give back. As a ROAR Guide, I would love to make the same kind of life-changing impact on another person's life, and show them just how amazing our University of Cincinnati is. |