I Am Because We Are

                         

                                                           Sonia Paredes

My first big project as a social change intern was to lead two seminars for Y Mentors. Through creative thinking, and with Patti Neiman’s help, I was able to put together a meaningful and reflective seminar. The seminars consisted of activities that I experienced in a social change study abroad program to Cape Town, South Africa.

My trip taught me the concept of Ubuntu, “I am who I am because of who we all are.” I translate that to mean that we are more alike than we are different and therefore we need to work together and learn from one another in order to build a strong, authentic community. I incorporated the power of Ubuntu in my seminar because I wanted the Y Mentors to share their voices by motivating and inspiring one another to continue to be a positive role model to their "Mentee’s".

Leading the Y Mentors seminar was definitely an unforgettable experience because it enabled me to step out of my comfort zone and share my voice. My experience helped me realize that leadership is not about leading, it is about hearing and learning from others. When you lead you can choose to overpower everyone, but when I led, I chose to give everyone the power to share their voice.

I believe that I am who I am today because of the empowering individuals that are in my life and when we all work together we form a strong, diverse and equal community.

“Like peace, justice, love, freedom, and order, authentic community is forever an incomplete unfinished process, but always full of possibility.” (Juan Moreno).

What is your definition of an authentic community? 

What does leadership mean to you? 

Fireside Reflections

The University of Minnesota was a cold, cold place this winter. Day after day with below-zero wind chills, our students would make their way into the University YMCA after trekking across campus through predatory winds.

The fireplace in the lobby became a gathering place for students and staff relieved to have survived their journey to the UY. We held our first “Warm Up Wednesday,” where students and staff gathered in the afternoon to drink hot chocolate and wonder why we choose to live in this state. Soon staff began to regularly bring their laptops down to sit by the fire together and work side by side, chatting with the students coming in and out.

As the winter wore on, conversations soon shifted from the weather to equally pressing topics for today’s young adults. Conversations about the children the college students are mentoring in schools surrounding campus. Discussions of the crime alerts on campus and whether or not race should be included in the descriptions. A brainstorm session about which Guinness Book of World Records record we could break at the UY.

Sometimes I joined the students and staff by the fire; other times I overheard them from my nearby office. Once or twice I wheeled out on my office chair to chime in, then scooted back to my desk. All winter, I found myself grateful for the conversations sparked by our simple gas fireplace.

As the new Executive Director of the University YMCA, my first winter on campus has me reflecting on the topic of leadership. Leadership is about bringing people together around the fireplace. It is about building relationships, stimulating conversations, and developing a collective vision or purpose. It is about creating the opportunity for someone’s voice to emerge.

This blog has been created to bring people together around a key aspect of the University Y—leadership. We intend to invite students, staff, alumni, and partners to submit posts that will hopefully generate an ongoing conversation on leadership. Bloggers will be asked to reflect on an experience that informs how they think about leadership, in 500 words or less. This could be an experience through the UY, or outside of the UY, with reflective leadership as the common thread. We hope you will consider participating by reading, commenting, and even possibly writing as a guest blogger.

On the Thursday before Spring Break, the temperature rose above 50 degrees. With it came packs of students walking by in shorts, music blasting from our neighboring fraternities, and the look of joy on the faces of people who believe the worst of the winter might just be behind them. The sudden energy of spring on campus reminded me of something else that is critical for leaders. Hope. So it is with great hope that we launch this blog and invite you to join our UY community in a conversation on leadership.

                                                       Jenny Wright Collins

                                                         Executive Director