1. WhenI was inhighschool,as co-presidentof the thespiantroupe oncampus,Ibelievedthat
beinga leadermeantrespondingtothe people andmakingdecisionsbasedonthe people.IbelievedI
had to be a servantto those I wasleading.While thisbasicideahasnotfadedfrommyideaof
leadership,Ihave beenpushedtoexamine how Irelate tothe people thatIclaimto be responsive to.I
realizedthatwhile Iwasinhighschool,myideaof leadershipwasskewed.Ihadnoideahow to relate to
people withdifferentviewpointsthanmyown.I wastoo focusedontryingto please everyone rather
than trustmy instincts,butat the same time,Iletmy ownideastake precedence overthe opinionsof
the troupe.I realize nowthatI wascateringto myself andto the people closesttome.Throughthe
TukwutLeadershipCircle,I’vebeenforcedtoexaminehow tochange thiswithinmyself.Asafirm
supporterof democracyand of the ideathat leadersneedtobe responsivetotheirfollowers,I’ve
realizedthatIstill have a longwayto go. Asa scholarand academic,I’mmore readythan evertolearn,
and I still learneveryday.WhatIlearnedmostaboutmyself throughthis experience isthatit’s
incrediblyimportanttome that everyone’svoice isheard,andI’ve learnedhow toenforce thatvalue as
a leaderandget overmyown personal biases.Whathadthe mostimpacton me duringthe TLC was
learninghowtointeractwith people thatare differentfromme.Asan LGBTQIAP+citizen,IbelievedI
was alreadyinclinedtowardsthisprinciple,butI’ve realizedoverthe course of thissemester,I
desperatelyneededtogeta muchbettergrasp onthisskill.
My SMART goalsI setwere to start mydouble majorinMarketing,andto become involvedwith
activitiesoncampusandin studentlife ingeneral.Due tothissemesterbeingmyfirstincollegeand
away fromhome,Iwas anxiousaboutbeingable tonotonlymake and keepfriends, buttoengage at all
withthe college experience.Myfearwas notonlythat itwouldbe difficultforme tomeetpeople and
become friendswiththem,butalsothatI wouldhave little tonotime toactuallybe able to do activities
or go to events. Imade itmy goal to set aside time toengage incampuslife,since Iwasinterestedin
manyof the aspectsof it.My parentsalso gave me a “job” for myfirstyear of college:jointwostudent

2. activitygroups.TheyknewIwas nervousandevenatpointsconsideringcomingbackto myhometown
to go to communitycollege,sotheywantedme toreallyexperience itall.Ithoughtthe TLC wouldbe a
goodway to do so.Lookingback,I wouldn’ttrade the time I’ve hadhere foranything,anda bigpart of
that experience wasthe TLC,since ithas immenselyhelpedme grow anddevelopasa person.Italso
helpedgive me the confidence Ineededinmyplace incollege tofullydecide onmymajors.Ialways
plannedtodouble major,butas time wenton,itwasnerve-wrackingforme tochoose.Ilove
psychologyandtheatre,butIwas beginningtotake interestinmarketingaswell.Imade itone of my
goalsto fullycommittowhatI wantedto take incollege.Now,I’madouble majorinPsychologyand
Marketingwitha minorinTheatre Arts. I’ve foundthe confidence tocommitfullytothe pathI’ve setfor
myself.
Due to the confidence I’vegainedinthe TLC,I’ve fullydecidedona careerpath.I hope to
become a marketeranddesignerfortheme parkswithinthe DisneyParkscompany.The semester
before Icame to CSUSM, mygraduationpresentwasgoingto DisneyWorldinOrlandooverspring
break.I had the mostamazingtime,andwhile Iwasthere,I beganto notice everylittle detail thatthe
parks presented. Specifically, inDisney’sAnimal Kingdom, the sectionsof the parkare basedon the
continents.Inthe Asiasectionof the park,there wasfocuson the culture surroundingthe Himalayas.
Everylittle detail hadtobe researchedandbroughttolife inan accurate,respectful,andaesthetically
pleasingway.Itwasamazingto see withthe “Imagineers”haddone tobringthe place to life forpark
guests,creatingmagicforchildrenandadultsalike.Irealizedthat’swhatIreallywantedtodo,butI had
no confidence inpursuingthatpath.The TLC hashelpedme gainan amazingamountof confidence in
my goals.Throughmulticultural workshopsandengagementopportunities,Iknow how toworkwith
manydifferentpeople,andthroughworkshopsfocusingonthe workplace,Iknow how tobe
professionalenoughtogetme inthe door.What had the most impactwas the lastworkshopexploring
howto presentoneself inaprofessionalsettinginsituationssuchasinterviews.Irealizedhow tosell

3. myself toa potential employerwhile still being professional andhavingagreatattitude.Additionally,
the workshoponinterviewshelpedme learntipsonhow toconduct inan interview.Recently,the
tactics servedme will inanauditionforthe theatre productionsfornextsemester.Ipresentedmyself
well, Iaskedquestions,andIplanto create thank-younotesforthe professorsthatconsideredme for
theirshows.I’mproudof the image of myself thatIgave due tothese steps.
For my campusengagementhours, Idecidedtofocusoneventsheldbythe social justice
centersoncampus. Asan LGBTQIAP+ student,myimmediateinterestwasgroundedinthe center.
Comingfroma small,conservative-mindedtown,itseemedstrange tome,butI was excitedknowing
that there wasalreadyan establishedsafe space formyself andothers.Iparticipatedinthe eventfor
BisexualityVisibilityDayinSeptemberandthe National ComingOutDaycelebrationinOctober.Itwas
importantto me that LGBTQ+ studentsatCSUSM were representedinsuchaway.Additionally,asa
memberof the FeministsUnitedorganizationoncampus,Iwas privilegedtowitnessDr.Cecili Chadwick
of the Women’sStudiesdepartmentdebate withaspokespersonof the AbortionNOgroupthatwas
invitedtocampusbythe StudentsforLife organization.Watchingthe professorspeaksoeloquently
underduressreallyinspiredme andmade me examine the wayIinteractwithpeoplewhose political
valuesdifferfrommine,alongwiththe CivilityCafé thatIattended(EngaginginDifficultConversations).
I alsoattendedthe FindingDorymovie nightinSeptemberaspart of Suicide AwarenessMonth.Ihad an
amazingtime withmynewfriends,andasa survivorof depression,itmeantsomuchto me that the
topicwas beingbroughttolightinsuch a wonderful wayby the StudentHealthcenter.Forcivic
engagementhours,Iwasable tovolunteerforthe CharityWingscenterVind’Artauction.Seeingso
manypeople appreciate andsupportgreatartistswasheartwarmingtome as a theaterartist.
Additionally,Iwasable to volunteeratan elementaryschool’sfall festival.Previously,Ihaddoubtedmy
skillsinworkingwithchildren,whichisaweaknessof mine consideringthatIwishto workfor Disney.I
feel like the experience improvedmyskillsat interactingwithyoungchildren.Ihadso much funat the

4. eventitfeltlike the twohoursflewby.Iran a game boothduringthe festival,encouragingthe kidstotry
theirbestandgivingthemrewards.Everychildreceivedaprize of at leastone piece of candy,whichwas
comfortingtome,but theygot more basedontheirperformance.IwasoverjoyedwheneverIcouldgive
a childmore than one piece because itwassomagical to see themhappyintheirachievement.
Additionally,Iassistedthe MountainShadowsCharityforone of theirevents.Iwasluckytotalkto some
amazing,hardworking,compassionatepeople fromthe center.Theirjobtakessomuch patience and
compassion,Iwashumbledbywatchingthemwork.Itwouldbe difficultforme to doso on a dailybasis,
and I wasamazedby the work theydo.
From myexperience inthe TLC,I wouldsayI’ve learnedaboutmyself more thananything.I’ve
learnedthe potentialIhave whenworkingwithothersandwhenbeinginaleadershipposition.I’ve also
grownas a person:at the beginningof the semesterwhenItooktoType Focustest,I was giventhe INTP
personality.Itookitonce againthismonth,and now I was giventhe ENTPpersonalityasinfluencedby
my experience atCSUSMandin the TukwutLeadershipCircle.