Leadership and Growth

          During my time at the University of South Carolina, I have taken many classes that have helped me grow within my major, but also as a leader. One of the courses that inspired my leadership was Business and Professional Speaking (SPCH 230). This course helped me pursue leadership roles at The HUB at Columbia, the South Carolina State House, Phi Alpha Delta (UofSC Pre-law Fraternity Chapter), and as a Pi Chi.

         

          When entering my sophomore year (first year off campus), I moved to the HUB at Columbia, an off-campus student living organization. It was here that I not only resided, but I also started my first college job. I began as a Community Concierge, working only 15 hours a week, however as my confidence and leadership skills grew, I eventually became promoted to working as a Full-time Leasing Associate. In my leasing role, I give tours to prospective residents, present at campus housing fairs, relay information to residents, and help audit and organize office documents. This job has allowed me to utilize my professional and leadership skills, many of which I learned in SPCH 230, or Business and Professional Speaking. In this class we learned about credibility, interviewing, persuasion, and group problem solving.

           

          To begin, one of the first lessons we learned in SPCH 230 was building confidence as a speaker and building our credibility, which are two things that have proved to be very important in not only my job as a Leasing Associate, but in my position as a Phi Alpha Delta (PAD) mentor and a Pi Chi. As a Leasing Associate, my daily agenda consists of distributing information to prospective residents, current tenants, and parents. It is important that I give confident answers and that I am a credible source of information, not only for my reputation, but for the entire reputation of the property. SPCH 230 taught us that to become a more confident and credible speaker, it was important to be prepared and do the background work behind each speech or presentation. For instance, when I know one of my leads or a tour is coming, I make sure to prepare myself with information about their wants and needs within their floor-plan, and I help pull aside options that would not only best fit their group but also match their price point and work for the office. This preparation usually takes a few extra minutes out of my day, but it allows me to be a more credible source to my leads and helps them make their decision much easier. I also implemented my confidence and credibility skills while marketing on campus and presenting at housing fairs.  In these settings, I must be prepared and confident to walk up to students and provide a quick pitch to attract them to potentially leasing at the HUB. I usually do this while passing out merch and informative flyers to try to get them sufficient information quickly. This experience allowed me to build my confidence, because I had to present myself to a large population of people, in an unorthodox setting. 

         

          Additionally, I also used this lesson in my role as a Pi Chi. To be a good source of support for my group of potential new members (PNMs), I had to make sure I was prepared with their personalities and thought processes. I made sure to keep notes on each girl’s rank of houses and help give them advice based on their characteristics and preferences. This allowed me to be a good leader and mentor for them as they made their panhellenic decisions. 

           

          Continually, another pragmatic lesson in SPCH 230, was learning how to properly interview, and be interviewed. SPCH 230 taught us to successfully sell ourselves to the interviewer and be a participant in an interview (ask our own questions, have different conversation points beyond interview questions, make a networking connection, etc.). We practiced this by interviewing each other within class but also interviewing a third-party person. I chose to interview the legislative administrator for Senator Kimbrell and former Senator Fanning, Ms. Wanda Thompson. I asked her questions about her past experiences, future goals, and her valuable experiences. It was through this interview that I was able to not only learn how to construct my own questions but get the perspective of what an interviewer is looking for. I found that I not only was paying attention to her answers to my questions, but also her body language. I used this experience with the interview project to interview for a promotion at The HUB at Columbia, as well as successfully interview for the position of being a sorority recruitment leader or a Pi Chi (which was a big goal of mine since being a freshman). This is a skill that not only helped me land specific college jobs and roles but also will help me in future interviews.

         

          Finally, the most important thing that I learned in this class was the ability to problem-solve in both individual and group settings. This skill has not only helped me grow as a leader but also has helped me as I’ve worked towards getting my Graduate with Leadership Distinction in Civil and Professional Engagement. Group problem-solving is a major skill in both work-place settings, and social settings. For example, as a Pi Chi, me and my partner had to work together to split up the responsibilities of gathering our PNMs, auditing our recruitment records, and staying on time to each event. We had to learn to not just work together but also lean on each other for support through the process. Additionally, I use my ability to problem solve on both an individual and group level. At the HUB At Columbia, our office of about 8 people all works together towards a common goal (pre-leasing to 100%). This can sometimes mean attending events together, splitting up call banks, or even brainstorming sales techniques. SPCH 230 helped prepare me to do this with the group project experiences. I was able to practice my group problem solving and push towards being a good leader in both individual and group settings. 

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          Overall, through my course at the University of South Carolina, SPCH 230 has been one of the most valuable. This class has allowed me to expand my professionality, and build my confidence, credibility, and problem-solving skills. It has allowed me to build my resumé and pursue collegiate goals of pursuing my Graduate with Leadership Distinction and Civil and Professional Engagement.