Key Events

Stepping Down As RLC Vice President:

After spending a year in the RLC, I was able to return my sophomore year as an intern with the Residential Leadership Community and the Vice President. I took a lot of pride in this position, as I was the first ever sophomore intern for the community. I loved what I was doing. I loved getting to know the freshmen. I loved working with the Peer Leaders in the community. I loved and look forward to spending times with the other interns, in social and professional environments. What I learned what that I did not love, agree, or remotely get along with the new RLC Director; none of the interns did.

After my newfound confidence, I was much more comfortable addressing conflict within the operations and planning of the community. Most of this stemmed from the lack of communication from our Director, but that is not the point of this. While I learned valuable skills like communication, budgeting, and organizational skills, that was not the biggest take away from the position. This internship taught me that it is ok to say “no” and that saying no to good things is not always a bad thing.

My sophomore year had all of the expectations and none of the results. I had taken on a plethora of leadership positions in several organizations, and I kept joining more. I wanted to figure out what my career path should be. I wanted to help people. I wanted to be involved. I wanted to know everyone. I wanted my name and face to carry value. I eventually learned that I wanted to work in sports and had two job opportunities in the field starting in January of my sophomore year. I was taking on so much, gaining the reputation of being involved in absolutely everything possible. I began to reflect a lot after certain activities and involvements because more frustrating than fruitful.

I learned that it is good to say “no” to good things. My leadership position with the RLC was an amazing opportunity, allowing me to grow as a leader while also challenging others to do the same. However, leading also requires transparency and vulnerability. I was struggling a lot to manage all of the things I had taken on and needed to cut things out and prioritize opportunities I was truly passionate about. At the end of the fall semester, I had a very real discussion with the RLC Director and other interns where I shared that I was going to step down and move out of the RLC. This experience has shown me the value of self-reflection, open communication, and workload management.