Fall 2016 TukWut Leadership Circle reflection paper

1. Sixto Romero
Tukwut Leadership Circle Reflection Paper
Leadership is not only leading a team to victory but also leading yourself. Leadership is a
lifestyle one chooses to do every day. The Tukwut Leadership Circle (TLC) has helped me
understand that. The program gave me the experience to not only become a strong leader as an
individual, but also a strong leader in a team. Prior to the TLC program, I was not aware of the
prime characteristics a strong leader has. I understand now that a strong leader communicates, is
self-awareness, and has a high level of professionalism. One of the chief things I learned about
myself were my Type Focus results. These results gave me the knowledge to understand myself
on a personal and professional level. These results gave me a better perspective on how I work
and what careers would catch my interests. This semester I attended a lot of powerful workshops.
One of the workshops that had the most impact on me was “Self-Presentation in Speaking and
Writing” by Doctor Brown. This workshop gave me the tools to communicate and represent
myself in a professional manner. One of the most elementary, but important, statements she had
was regarding emailing. She noted how important it is to always specifically identify the time,
date, location, and contact information when setting up an appointment. I found this important
because I never thought to note those small details when sending an email.
My student life SMART goals this semester was to become involved with the TLC and to
graduate the program. I feel that I have accomplished these goals. Firstly, I have connected with
faculty in the program and spoke to them regarding the TLC and further advancements in the
program. Secondly, I have committed my time meeting the required expectation to graduate the
program. My Professional SMART goals were to submit my resume to the Career Center and to
look for internships in Counseling. I got my resume revised by the Career Center this semester,

2. but I was unsuccessful in applying for internships. The reason for not accomplishing this goal
was due to a change in my desired career. I decided not to pursue counseling for now and I have
taken interest in Non-Profit work.
The TLC helped me progress toward meeting my career and professional goals by
instilling the mentality to set goals and follow through with them. I have set goals before, but not
many academically and surely not many with a deadline. I found the idea of setting goals to be
important and useful for myself. Having these goals gave me the motivation to complete them
and gave me confidence to what I could accomplish in a semester. Also, the program gave me
the tools to effectively work in a group project. In my Spanish class, I worked on a group project
and during the project I made sure to utilize mindful listening and communication to complete
the task. I communicated with my team on what the goal was and scheduled meetings to practice
and work on our presentation.
For my campus engagement, I attended a CiVILITY workshop. The workshop gave me
the tools to communicate in difficult situations and learn how to accept different opinions. For
my CIVIC engagement, I attended the MPowr mural projects. I gained empathy and
understanding for many of the residents who attend the facility. It was empowering to see what
fantastic work they could accomplish. One of the things I learned from this program, that I didn’t
know before, was the importance of listening. The workshop Leading with Mindfulness allowed
me to understand the importance of avid listening. Many people find it difficult to fully listen to
someone without having inner mind chatter while conversing. This is defiantly something I have
been practicing. I have implemented this every day when I am in a conversation with someone.
Often I do have inner thoughts or questions, but I always catch myself and revert to listening.