Capstone Integration Collins 1 Capstone Integration April 29, 2022 This semester of Moreau focused on developing what a leader is and how reflective leadership can be a powerful force for good in the world. This semester I have learned what qualities make a leader, and how I can continue to develop my leadership skills in order to interact with different communities and be a voice for others. In the film Hesburgh, Father Hesburgh is characterized as a powerful leader because of his ability to bring together different groups of people by serving as an intermediary and being an approachable and vulnerable figure (Week 2). Father Hesburgh embodies what it means to be a leader who drives social change, and his contributions to the Civil Rights Commission demonstrate how his reflective leadership resulted in change. Hesburgh was introduced during week two of the course, thus serving as a backdrop during subsequent conversations about leadership, empathy, courage, and accompaniment. I hope that one day I will be an influential and inspiring leader like Hesburgh, and I feel that by embodying the qualities and values that made Hesburgh a memorable leader I will be able to live a fuller version of my life. I now know that in order to become the best version of myself and reach my leadership goals I must first learn how to be kind to myself and reflect on my values and the things that truly matter to me. At the beginning of the semester, I was feeling a lot of academic pressure and that no matter how hard I worked I was falling behind and failing to live up to the expectations I had for myself. If you were to look below the facade you would find that I was struggling with “toxic levels of fear, anxiety, and depression, of emptiness and aimlessness and isolation” Collins 2 (Deresiewicz, Week 1). Throughout high school and for the first semester of college I had prioritized academics over my mental and physical well-being, but this semester I decided I was going to work to change these habits, and this has put me on the path to becoming a reflective leader. In order to truly learn about myself and the person I want to be, I had to learn to be introspective. As Eurich writes in her article “The Right Way to be Introspective,” “the qualities most critical for success in today’s world — including emotional intelligence, empathy, influence, persuasion, communication and collaboration — all stem from self-awareness” (Eurich, Week 6). I have always considered myself to be self-aware, I have written in a journal since I was in elementary school and I enjoy spending time alone and reflecting in nature. However, after reading Eurich’s article I realized that self-awareness is not just simply being alone with yourself or thinking about yourself, it requires constantly challenging your views of not only yourself but also the world around you by asking yourself “what” questions. Asking “what” rather than “why” keep[s] us open to discovering new information about ourselves, even if that information is negative or in conflict with our existing beliefs” (Eurich, Week 6). With this newfound understanding of who I am and who I want to be, I feel that I am prepared to move to the next stage in my leadership journey. In “Solitude and Leadership” Deresiewicz writes that leaders are “able to think things through for themselves… [and have] moral courage, the courage to stand up for what [they] believe” (Deresiewicz, Week 7). This semester I have learned that in order to be a leader I need to be confident in my ideas and dare to think for myself, rather than following everyone else or worrying about what others may think. This is easier said than done, but I feel that if I have the courage to stand up for the things that are important to me, I will encourage others to do the same, thus leading by example. Standing up for what I believe in relates to my purpose at Notre Collins 3 Dame. I have decided to major in environmental science with a minor in journalism, ethics, and democracy. I feel that this combination of science with my love of reporting and writing will make me happy and that I will be excited about my studies. By studying journalism I feel that I will be able to share topics that I am passionate about with others in the Notre Dame community, and journalism will give me the opportunity to develop creative ideas and pursue stories that will make a difference. Journalism relates to empathy because through writing journalists are able to listen to other people’s stories and share these voices with others. Through sharing stories I hope to help others gain a better understanding of other people’s situations, thus fostering empathy and kindness. I feel that studying environmental science with journalism will help me reach a fuller version of my life because I will learn how I can help others and cause meaningful change. I feel that my purpose at Notre Dame is to learn how to be a compassionate leader and form meaningful connections and relationships with different people. As I am pursuing my education I am also learning how empathy and kindness can allow me to accompany people, and journey with them through their challenges. Louise Richardson, who spoke at the 2018 Notre Dame Graduate School Commencement address said, “we must engage more systematically with the communities around us” (Richardson, Week 9). I feel that this quote relates to my purpose at Notre Dame because my goal is not only to graduate college and get an education but more importantly to learn how I can use my education to help others and how my education will shape the person I will become. At this point in my Notre Dame journey, I have reached “a pretty pass!” such as the one Annie Dillard describes in “Stalking” (Dillard, Week 13). Although I faced many challenges to reach the top of the peak I stand at now, like adjusting to college and being away from my family for the first time, I have a newfound understanding of my life as an individual and an adult as a Collins 4 result of these experiences. Although I may not know exactly where I stand or where I am headed, I do know that all of my life experiences up until this point have shaped the person I am today. Standing at the top of this pass I look down and remember all of the experiences that have helped form my understanding of reflective leadership and how my life experiences have instilled in me a desire to work towards social change. Works Cited Creadon, Patrick, director. Hesburgh. 2019. Deresiewicz, William. “Solitude and Leadership.” 2010. Deresiewicz, William. “The Students.” Dillard, Annie. Stalking, 1974. Eurich, Tasha, and Al Gore. “The right way to be introspective (yes, there's a wrong way) |.” TED Ideas, 2 June 2017, https://ideas.ted.com/the-right-way-to-be-introspective-yes-theres-a-wrong-way/. Accessed 15 April 2022. Richardson, Louise. “Notre Dame Commencement 2018: Graduate School Commencement Speaker.” YouTube, 21 May 2018, https://www.youtube.com/clip/Ugkxnng2NPp3byC15ZJYDNYQhRmweUxOHFPS. Accessed 18 April 2022.