Reflection Paper

I can’t even believe how fast this year flew by. After three years working in Clubs, I am moving on to something new. I have been reflecting a lot lately on my past in this office and how I came to be where I am today. Honestly, this experience has been a huge blessing in my life! After my freshman year, I thought that was the largest changing year of my life. I thought the same thing after my sophomore year. Now, I know that this year was the most impactful year in my life in terms of growth and progression. Hopefully, every year in my life can be full of growth like this year and end with and increased love of life. I am so grateful for the individuals that have helped me so far in this journey and I am so excited to see where life takes me! Throughout this paper, I am going to reflect on the many lessons I have learned and apply them to how I can “go forth and serve” in my employment, church, community, and home.

I would not be here at this time if it weren’t for the people who have believed in me and my potential. It’s amazing that there have been people in my past who were able to look at me and believe that I could be more than I currently was. I don’t know if I can do that yet, but I have been trying to. It is the regular expectations of others that have encouraged me along the way and helped me to see the significance of where I am going. I guess this is the largest lesson I have learned this year. Life is all about the relationships and people in our lives. The Savior has admonished, “This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you.” The power of this lesson has been evident in the experiences I have had with those around me. Leadership with love as our motive and people as our focus will lead to success.

· Employment: I want to apply this lesson to my future employment in the way I communicate with those around me. This year, I was able to get to know Vice President Scharman pretty well. She is one of the greatest examples of love in the workplace that I have ever seen. Dean Heperi shared an experience with us that really impressed me. He made the mistake of calling someone a liar, because they were, during a meeting. VP Scharman chose to wait until the meeting had concluded and use the opportunity to teach Dean Heperi that we don’t communicate in that way towards people, especially not in public settings. I want to be able to emulate VP Scharman’s love in my future workplace as I communicate with those around me. There is no need for anyone to every feel inferior because that is not how Jesus Christ led. He led with love for everyone around him.

· Church: It seems as though it would be easy to serve the people around you with love in a church setting, but it isn’t always easy. My ward this year hasn’t been very welcoming as a whole, but I have been impressed by the caliber of individuals there. I could have been better at serving with love this year in my ward. One experience in particular helped me to realize how I can go forth to serve at church in the future. I was able to attend my friend Karielle’s grandma’s ward a few weeks ago. A young, married man was teaching the Sunday school class. It was obvious that he was educated and was probably more capable of serving than a lot of the ward members in attendance. As a new member in the ward, he was able to call each member by name and validate their comments. He was humble and understood that the Spirit can only be present in a room when we are acting out of love. I need to remember that for me to be inspired as I serve in the gospel, I will need to look at each individual with their divine nature in mind.

· Community: Being able to sacrifice the time to serve in the community is all about love and other people. This past weekend, I was able to attend a concert for a member in my ward. She was so happy to see so many at her show supporting her. I am so grateful to have opportunities to serve that have helped me to gain that ‘addiction’ because now I can never stop. In the future, I would love to spend time volunteering for a non-profit organization in my community; hopefully it will have an emphasis on heath.

· Home: Being able to go forth to serve in the home is contingent on the love that a family has for each other and priority that they give to their family relationships. This year, Charne has taught me the importance of making family a priority. She doesn’t come from the easiest family environment, but I have never heard Charné complain about her family and the struggles that exist there. I want to be a mother who is always willing to recognize the potential in my children. I also want to serve by always working to have a better relationship with my husband. While working with my executive directors this year, I have noticed that while working on our relationship, we seemed to be going strong. It was only during the times that I didn’t put forth adequate effort that our relationships seemed to fall. Hopefully, I can be prepared to go forth to serve in the home!

This year, I have learned over and over the power that balance can play in our lives. If we are balanced, we will be happier, more able to serve, and more prepared to encounter conflict. In Ecclesiastes 3, it says, “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.” I know this scripture is long, but I have been thinking about it for a while now. There is a time for all things in this life. I need to be willing to accept that I can’t do everything, but everything I do I can do extremely well. This is why balance is so important. Without balance in my life, I will not be able to do anything extremely well. I would probably burn out! I don’t want to burn out from life. I want to be balanced so I can do everything I want to do. I need to keep balance in my life if I am going to be able to go forth to serve.

· Employment: In order to apply this lesson to keep balance, I need to be willing to say no. Sometimes keeping balance can be hard for me because I want to please people. In order to go forth to serve in the workplace, I will need to have a good attitude and that requires balance. I learned this lesson after elections of this year. I was being pulled towards my new role and I was still trying to fulfill my current role as Clubs VP. It got to a point where I was extremely overwhelmed and had to do something about it. I communicated my feelings to Brother Ward, as well as Ryan about how I couldn’t do everything and I needed their support to do my current job well and new job as I found time. This exercise of communication was changing for me because I was able to better understand the power that I can have in balancing my own life. No one can tell me to act a certain way. I need to remember that sometimes it is appropriate to say no and communicate why.

· Church: I need to be able to put my God first all the time, but to feel good about that I will need to keep balance. Recently, a member of my bishopric called me to see what my responsibilities were in the office. He was curious to know about my time commitments to work, BYUSA, and school this summer. At the end of his phone call, Brother Smith asked if I would be able to serve in a calling this summer. Did my schedule allow it? That phone call was influential for me. I am responsible to make my leaders in the church aware of my situation, so that if a call is extended they are able to receive the best inspiration. I need to not be afraid to communicate what I am doing with my life. Again, I can be an agent for my own balance.

· Community: I am addicted to service, so I am sure I am going to be serving in my community for my entire life in some way, but I will just need to make sure that as time moves along, I am keeping my priorities straight. If I want to be serving in my community, maybe I need to do it with my family. Community service will never take precedence over church or family. Since that decision is made, I will be able to make decisions better in the future.

· Home: I really want to encourage my family to remain balanced by having all of us place family as our number one priority. The home is an essential unit, so my attitude needs to reflect that. My mom has taught me the importance of this principle over and over in her life. She is often making sacrifices for the sake of members of our team. I need to be sure to understand this principle as well in my life. I do not want to completely eliminate ‘me’ time in the future. My mom has been really good at running throughout my life. That has become her release. As I go forward, I want to have a release like running in my life as well.

This reflection paper isn’t even doing justice to the lessons I have learned this year in BYUSA. I am so grateful for the friends I have made and the lessons I have learned. I feel a little more prepared to ‘go forth to serve’ after having experienced this year. I’m not really sure where I would be without BYUSA and the chance I have had to learn and grow as a leader. One of my favorite quotes from the year is by Elder Holland, “Don’t give up when the pressure mounts. Face your doubts. Master your fears. ‘Cast not away therefore your confidence.’ Stay the course and SEE THE BEAUTY OF LIFE UNFOLD FOR YOU.” I really believe this. Life is amazing! I am just happy to be living it.

Leadership in the Family - VP Scharman

Please describe a way you will apply a leadership concept you have learned about this year as you lead in your family.

One principle that I seem to be learning over and over is that we need to listen, evaluate, and then conclude. I guess this goes back to the idea that we need to be 'reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterward an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved.' I am so grateful for the people that have shown me the importance of this principle through their example.

When I lead my family in the future, I would like my home to be void of unkind words. I think it is possible to do this by being willing to listen and only reprove with love. I have realized this year that our tone means everything. It is crucial for me to remember as a mom that I need to have a loving tone, all the time. This will help me to support a loving dynamic in my family.

Vice President Scharman talked about the importance of developing structure in your home based on your individual time commitments. Describe how you believe structure and order in your family life can help you lead in you family. How can some form of structure and routine help you develop leaders in your family?

Structure and order in my family life will help me to lead. I want to have a structure committed to the gospel, where the essential activities like family scripture study, prayer, and family home evening are all built in to our lives. While growing up, there was a phase where my family didn't have this structure. We weren't' very good at reading our scriptures together, or praying together. As I reflect on that time, the feeling in our home would have been different if were were better at worshiping together. I want to be sure to lead in my home, with the gospel as our guide. My children will then know what to expect from me and from our family, so we can together work to establish a home with the Spirit.

It is essential for every leader to understand the power that comes from structure, from having authority in an organization. In my future home, I want to ensure that my husband leads with priesthood authority. I want him to have monthly interviews with my children, so they can come to expect that he is their father and he is there for them. By establishing structure, a family can grow closer together and develop the leadership abilities in the children. Immersion is sometimes one of the best learning tools. Hopefully, I can immerse my children in a home with leadership structure and order. This principle is the same as leading outside of the home. If we are able to establish structure in our leadership positions, organizations will run more effectively.

Leadership in the Community - Mayor Mark Winder

Mayor Winder talked about the challenge of balancing career and church assignments with the need to be involved in serving in your community and government. Describe how you will go about including community and government service in your life.

This question really helps me to realize how grateful I should be for the family I grew up in. My parents have set a great example of being willing to serve in the community. My dad participates on a few councils for the county for his profession. My mom serves in the schools regularly and has also served as an executive director of a non profit organization for a number of years. Their example has greatly influenced my ideas about how I can serve in the community. For that I am grateful!

When I am older, I plan to serve in my children's schools. If family is my number one priority, then it will be easy to justify spending more time with them during their education. I also want to serve with a non-profit organization sometime in the future. Girls on the Run is a non-profit that I have volunteered many hours with and I would love to serve with them again sometime in the future. It seems to make a large impact on the community with its mission to empower young girls to believe in themselves.

In Mayor Winders research on the history of church leaders interactions with Presidents of the Untied States, one conclusion that has been apparent is the importance of good people serving in and around government. Identify ways that you can have that type of positive influence in both your community and nationally. Please include various ways in which you see yourself being able to lead.

I have never had any sort of desire to serve in politics, although I admire many of the people who have served. I do recognize that it is important to first be informed. I need to remain educated about the current issues in our community, so I can vote appropriately. If I am not informed, I will not have an effective opinion. I also need to encourage those around me to vote! Beyond anything, I need to be supportive of the elective leaders, whether or not they were my choice. I don't believe in following with blind obedience, but I do think it is important to continue to support our government all the time. I will seek to have an educated opinion on the expressed issues and share it with those around me, but I will remember that people are not always identified by their choices. Politicians can do ridiculous things, but that doesn't make them bad people.

As you evaluate your experience this year in a leadership role, describe what motivated you to make the commitment you have made in your year of service with BYUSA.
I was motivated by the people we would be able to serve in the clubs area. I am motivated by the power that a club can have in a student's life. Seeing that positive change makes me excited. I am motivated by the BYUSA vision. I want to help students become more Christ-like leaders. I am amazed by how much we can learn as we are seeking to serve those around us. That is what I want to be better at!