Key Events

RLC Orientation

The first event that really impacted my understanding of leadership started at the beginning of college. The orientation for the Residential Leadership Community had to key aspects: a presentation and a campus wide scavenger hunt. I was able to see what leaders among leaders looked like and how they held themselves in this environment.

As a floor, we walked over to a lecture hall in Litton Reaves from the dorm, sitting down in the rows of seats, this was the first time some of us had seen a lecture hall at Virginia Tech. All of the freshmen were wearing matching red t shirts and the returning students were in navy. It was awesome to see everyone greet each other after a summer apart, seeing how excited each of them were to reunite with peers.

What really makes this memory stand out in my mind were the six students standing on stage. They looked so put together, so in charge. They later introduced themselves as the Residential Leadership Community interns. They told us about themselves, sharing their experiences and what their roles in the RLC were. I was blown away that people only two years older than me were this professional and organized. But what really blew me away was when they moved into the question and answer section.

The interns held a question and answer period after the presentation. These people that my small, naïve, freshman self, began to sit in awe of just sat down on the edge of the state just like they were hanging out with us. The formal façade that was just previously presented to us had come crumbling down, eventually along with the intimidation factor of the those in leadership positions. They answered questions, giving us advice on the college transition, living in a dorm, even their favorite meals to get from the dining halls.

Looking back on this, I realized I grew up fearing people in leadership positions, people with power. I always considered them to important to talk to, I was intimidated by people that were seemingly appointed over me. The interns helped bride this gap, realizing that they had been through what I was going through, and they genuinely wanted to help me. They were in these positions they were because they had successful completed part of the journey that I was entering at that very moment.

This moment proved to be a steppingstone in my personal leadership journey, past, present, and future. I can confidently say my level of comfort in addressing those in leadership positions has drastically increased in college. I will take this with me when working with supervisors and top-level management in my career.