REd
Riot
EDGE project overview
What is it?
For my project I took the lead in organizing and executing a recruitment event on campus. This event was held on February 16th and 17th. As a member of the executive counsel of the Presidential Ambassador team, I was able to oversee a large majority of the planning process and delegate tasks among the ambassador team.
What did it accomplish?
The event was for at most 280 high school juniors and seniors that are interested in attending SUU in the coming years. The event included an info session, campus tour, an overnight stay with the presidential ambassadors, two meals, various activities, prizes, and a closing session. It increased student's interest in attending SUU and hopefully convinced them to attend SUU for college.
How it applies to leadership
This opportunity allowed me to develop some major aspects of leadership including delegation, time management, and different communication skills. I was able to oversee a lot of different aspects of the event and make sure everything ran smoothly.
about me.
My name is Julia Rainey and I am a senior Communications major at Southern Utah University. Leadership has always been an important part of my life whether it is within sports, school, or work settings, I have always loved the opportunity to lead and mentor others. I would even go as far as to say that leadership and people are some of my passions.
I also enjoy being outside doing different activities like hiking and rock climbing. Those activities allow for a lot of self reflection which allows me to evaluate how I interact and lead others. I am thankful for all of the opportunities I have been given and have a true desire to be good in this world. Thats what it is all about for me.
Red riot 2018
This Red Riot was based on the popular TV show Survivor. Activities varied from eating challenges to physical challenges and tickets were given after completing the challenges which were then used to enter a raffle for prizes. Students had the opportunity to tour campus, hang out with their hosts, as well as meet other high school students from all around the state as well as from out of state.The SUU ROTC created an escape room where students were timed and had to complete a series of puzzles and tasks in order to find a code to unlock a box to get a key and escape the room. We ended the evening with a dance and had some closing ceremonies after breakfast the following day. Overall it was a great event!
Reflection
This experience allowed me to grow in many ways especially in the aspects of leadership. I underestimated the work that goes into these recruitment events from the planning side and there were many days that I would get discouraged or exhausted from trying to solve problems. I started out as a leader who would get frustrated easily and who often felt a need to do things on their own without asking others for help. As time progressed, I realized I couldn’t do things on my own and I needed to ask others for help in solving problems and creating solutions because there is a solution to every problem, it is just a matter of finding it.
In addition, an important lesson that I learned was that often times the best leaders don’t ask for recognition and also often don’t receive it. Understanding that sometimes the most satisfaction you can get comes from having a successful event and enjoying it. Another thing I learned about leadership is that it is important to “thank your people”. In Mindy Benson’s event management class last semester, she taught us that it is important to thank the people who help you whether they are the people cleaning the toilets or they are the main event, everyone deserves to be thanked for their contribution.
Overall this opportunity allowed for me to exercise many aspects of leadership and it was cool to get to learn from the mistakes of others as well as experience my own trials and have to fix them. My biggest things I took away from this were patience, time management, and trust in those I am working with. I’m thankful for the opportunity to have worked in the ambassador program and to complete this event.
