I chose to pursue a degree in Social Justice because in the summer of 2011 I went on a service trip with about 45 students that I did not know. This was called a Pay it Forward tour through the nonprofit Students Today Leaders Forever (STLF). This trip centers around doing service for others and developing leadership skills. The mission of STLF is to reveal leadership through service, relationships and action. So when looking for a program to go into I wanted one that I can make my own and one that focused on helping others and improving society.
While pursuing my degree I have had two internships. One was with the Midway Public Art Working Group. With this internship I helped bringing a student voice to meetings and participated in the planning for a Hamline University and neighborhood collaboration in a mural project. With this collaboration I headed the recruitment of emerging artist for the project. Before interning and currently I am a part of the working group. This group has a focus of bring public art into the Midway neighborhood and using it as a community build to bridge gaps in the community.
My other internship was with the organization of STLF. With this internship I updated their activities guidebook that is used on their Pay it Forward tours, middle, high school and college levels. I also lead one of their high school tours at the end of summer. From this internship I was ask to be a student representative on their governing board. Now I am the first student to serve on this board.
Besides internships I have also held jobs on campus that have helped create a well rounded education. I am a Leadership Intern with the Student Activities Office and Leadership. With this job I get to help lead a pre-orientation program for First Years, it is the HU-Lead Pathway. During this they learn about different leadership skills and how and where they can implement them on campus during their four-years at Hamline. Also with this job I get to help with leadership develop on campus for the entire student body. I learned event planning skills and public speaking skills that I will use for the rest of my life.
Another job that I have is that I am the Student Staff Development Coordinator for the Campus Recreation Department. With this position I have created monthly leadership development trainings for the different staff of Campus Rec. The trainings that I have done range from self-care to failure is okay to authentic leadership. I also focus on making sure people feel appreciated for the work they are doing within our department. With job I also learned about public speaking skills but also more about the process of actually creating content for people.
My other job is being one of the Chapter Core Members of Hamline’s STLF chapter. I have had two different position with this. Last year I help run the fundraising and finances for the chapter. This taught me more about budgeting and money management. This year I am the Marketing and Recruitment member. With this my goal is to try to get the name of STLF out on campus as much as possible and try to fill our bus for spring break. This has taught me the different ways to market things to different people. Overall being Chapter Core has really taught me problem solving skills and crisis management of what is the best way to deal with something and when.
The things I learned with the Social Justice degree is more about what the world is really like. I am from a small town where I was never really exposed to a lot of social issues. With being in the Social Justice major I have taken classes that brought to the light different areas of life that I never really knew about. I also learned about how to be an advocate for people as a white women. I also learned about how to make a positive impact on people’s lives. This is important to me because my goal is to help develop the leaders of tomorrow, this development will look different for everyone. The thing I learned the most is the idea of white privilege. This was a huge eye opener for me and how to understand this idea to this day.
My future plans is to get my feet wet at a Nonprofit for a year to see how I like that world and then go to Graduate school to get my Master in Student Affairs. The thought of taking a year off is to see how the Nonprofit Sector works I want to be more exposed to it. I am very exposed to the Student Affairs world and know what it can bring me but not 100% sure what the Nonprofit world can bring me for opportunities and I want to explore that.
While pursuing my degree I have had two internships. One was with the Midway Public Art Working Group. With this internship I helped bringing a student voice to meetings and participated in the planning for a Hamline University and neighborhood collaboration in a mural project. With this collaboration I headed the recruitment of emerging artist for the project. Before interning and currently I am a part of the working group. This group has a focus of bring public art into the Midway neighborhood and using it as a community build to bridge gaps in the community.
My other internship was with the organization of STLF. With this internship I updated their activities guidebook that is used on their Pay it Forward tours, middle, high school and college levels. I also lead one of their high school tours at the end of summer. From this internship I was ask to be a student representative on their governing board. Now I am the first student to serve on this board.
Besides internships I have also held jobs on campus that have helped create a well rounded education. I am a Leadership Intern with the Student Activities Office and Leadership. With this job I get to help lead a pre-orientation program for First Years, it is the HU-Lead Pathway. During this they learn about different leadership skills and how and where they can implement them on campus during their four-years at Hamline. Also with this job I get to help with leadership develop on campus for the entire student body. I learned event planning skills and public speaking skills that I will use for the rest of my life.
Another job that I have is that I am the Student Staff Development Coordinator for the Campus Recreation Department. With this position I have created monthly leadership development trainings for the different staff of Campus Rec. The trainings that I have done range from self-care to failure is okay to authentic leadership. I also focus on making sure people feel appreciated for the work they are doing within our department. With job I also learned about public speaking skills but also more about the process of actually creating content for people.
My other job is being one of the Chapter Core Members of Hamline’s STLF chapter. I have had two different position with this. Last year I help run the fundraising and finances for the chapter. This taught me more about budgeting and money management. This year I am the Marketing and Recruitment member. With this my goal is to try to get the name of STLF out on campus as much as possible and try to fill our bus for spring break. This has taught me the different ways to market things to different people. Overall being Chapter Core has really taught me problem solving skills and crisis management of what is the best way to deal with something and when.
The things I learned with the Social Justice degree is more about what the world is really like. I am from a small town where I was never really exposed to a lot of social issues. With being in the Social Justice major I have taken classes that brought to the light different areas of life that I never really knew about. I also learned about how to be an advocate for people as a white women. I also learned about how to make a positive impact on people’s lives. This is important to me because my goal is to help develop the leaders of tomorrow, this development will look different for everyone. The thing I learned the most is the idea of white privilege. This was a huge eye opener for me and how to understand this idea to this day.
My future plans is to get my feet wet at a Nonprofit for a year to see how I like that world and then go to Graduate school to get my Master in Student Affairs. The thought of taking a year off is to see how the Nonprofit Sector works I want to be more exposed to it. I am very exposed to the Student Affairs world and know what it can bring me but not 100% sure what the Nonprofit world can bring me for opportunities and I want to explore that.