1. For my practicum, I took PLCY213: Foundations of Nonprofit Leadership and Social Innovation. In this class we explored the nonprofit sector and steps leaders take to create change in their communities. I learned about the intricacies of a nonprofit organization, how it is run, and the challenges they face along the way. We studied many different types of nonprofits, noting the differences between them and how these differences impact organizations depending on the social issues being addressed. With this knowledge, we completed assignments related to the nonprofit sector such as interviewing a nonprofit organization leader and creating a new, theoretical nonprofit organization to tackle an issue that resonated with us.
2. In PLCY213, I learn to identify the roles, responsibilities, and challenges of a nonprofit and how its leaders are equipped to address them. A nonprofit leader should be flexible, but most importantly, dedicated to the issue they are focused on, centering their actions around charity and efficiency. I also learned how race, gender, class, religion, sexual orientation, and citizenship shape who participates in nonprofit activities, how they do so, the activities they pursue, and the power they wield. I also was able to find my own values through this experience, focusing on a single issue on a paper I wrote. I found out that I was most interested in climate change and how different organizations are making change locally and globally. While doing research, I was able to learn more the different nonprofits focused on climate change and how they are addressing the issue through various means such as raising awareness, funding initiatives, and coming up with new solutions to the problem.
3. I grew professionally by conducting a formal interview with a leader of a nonprofit organization. For this assignment, I contacted a nonprofit organization to interview one of their leaders to research their day-to-day activities, responsibilities, and leadership style. For this interview, I chose a nonprofit organization called YOAM, or Youth On A Mission. In YOAM, I was able to interview Tom P. who managed the financial responsibilities of the organization. Through this interview, I was able to learn more about the financial planning process of a nonprofit organization such as fundraising and volunteer coordination. Since Tom works mostly behind the scenes through financial planning, I learned a lot about supportive leadership where he as a leader supports the organization while not being the figure head. I relate to this leadership very much because of the personality I have. When taking a leadership role, I tend not to take much credit for what my group has done, but like to stay behind the scenes leading and supporting my team in private. I chose this assignment as evidence of my growth as it required me to be a professional interviewing a leader who makes change locally and globally.
2. In PLCY213, I learn to identify the roles, responsibilities, and challenges of a nonprofit and how its leaders are equipped to address them. A nonprofit leader should be flexible, but most importantly, dedicated to the issue they are focused on, centering their actions around charity and efficiency. I also learned how race, gender, class, religion, sexual orientation, and citizenship shape who participates in nonprofit activities, how they do so, the activities they pursue, and the power they wield. I also was able to find my own values through this experience, focusing on a single issue on a paper I wrote. I found out that I was most interested in climate change and how different organizations are making change locally and globally. While doing research, I was able to learn more the different nonprofits focused on climate change and how they are addressing the issue through various means such as raising awareness, funding initiatives, and coming up with new solutions to the problem.
3. I grew professionally by conducting a formal interview with a leader of a nonprofit organization. For this assignment, I contacted a nonprofit organization to interview one of their leaders to research their day-to-day activities, responsibilities, and leadership style. For this interview, I chose a nonprofit organization called YOAM, or Youth On A Mission. In YOAM, I was able to interview Tom P. who managed the financial responsibilities of the organization. Through this interview, I was able to learn more about the financial planning process of a nonprofit organization such as fundraising and volunteer coordination. Since Tom works mostly behind the scenes through financial planning, I learned a lot about supportive leadership where he as a leader supports the organization while not being the figure head. I relate to this leadership very much because of the personality I have. When taking a leadership role, I tend not to take much credit for what my group has done, but like to stay behind the scenes leading and supporting my team in private. I chose this assignment as evidence of my growth as it required me to be a professional interviewing a leader who makes change locally and globally.
4. I also want to be involved in a nonprofit later on in my career either through volunteering or as an employee. With my knowledge of nonprofits, I now understand which nonprofit best match my personality and work style as well as find organizations that tackle issues I am passionate about. Also, when donating to nonprofits, I can think critically about who to donate to and which ones will maximize my donation.
5. I want to gain more experience in the education field in my time at UMD, either through an internship or as a research assistant while continuing my tutoring background. I also plan to apply to College of Education as a junior next semester.
I want to pursue a career in the education field, especially as a math teacher. Right out of college, I want to find a job in a school to teach advanced mathematics. Later on in my career, I want to apply for a masters degree in Computer science education. There is also a possibility that I will move to South Korea to teach English and Math there.
6. As a teacher, being a leader is crucial in maintaining a productive and positive classroom environment. The Public Leadership Scholars program allowed me to explore my leadership style while studying the various types of leadership. I personally like to be an amicable and lenient leader while maintaining a couple strict rules that govern the classroom environment. I learned through the PL program that leadership is diverse and multiple types must work together to create an organization or team that works well together. While working together on various assignments, I was able to reinforce my leadership within a group of leaders, finding my place as a leader who likes to take on responsibilities while distributing them to others so that the workload is fair.