ANDREA ARGUETA

Personal importance of task 

Before I started my position, I was extremely excited that I had accomplished my dream of becoming Director of Philanthropy for an organization that had inspired me throughout my Husky career. On the other hand, I worried that I would fail my team by failing in procuring desserts for our Dessert Dash or not finding local non-profit organizations that would partner with us. This experience helped me continue forward despite my concerns for my own leadership qualities. If not for this experience, I would have continued to believe that I could not surpass the various obstacles which we face in leadership positions. 

           

Task Accomplished

• Brainstorm ideas to compose new volunteer events such as, fundraising for Relay for Life. 

• Attend weekly meetings to discuss upcoming projects with the executive team and engage with local female leaders. 

• Arranged a collaboration with 7 campus organizations to gather ~ 300 donation items for a local nonprofit.

• Directed 4+ service events for 71 UWIB members with local non-profits such as, Powerful Voices.

• Lead a committee of 15 members to compose new volunteer events.

• Built relationships with professionals by attending professional development events such as LinkedIn workshops.

 

Leadership competencies gained

Scope of Competence: I entered my role with abundant excitement yet deep in the back of my mind, I worried I would falter and it would cost the team greatly. As I grew into my role, I did what I always did which is dream big. I dreamed about uniting all 32 Foster organizations to participate in a Back to School drive for a local non-profit called Powerful Voices. As I began to discuss details with club leaders, I began to realize my own limitations. Although, I could not bring to life my ultimate dream of uniting all Foster RSO's, I still pushed against my own capabilities by strategizing and crafting new efficient methods to communicate with all leaders and maintain continual status on the progress of our donations. In the end, by understanding my scope of competence I was able to shift my focus on how to leverage our networks and motivate individuals to donate or volunteer. This shift helped in procuring approximately 300 donation items for girls of color in the Greater Seattle area. 

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Listening: In order to be an effective Director of Philanthropy, I understood the importance of listening to our speakers advice and our members' feedback after general meetings. Moreover, this feedback was essential to understand the type of speakers our members were hoping to engage with. For instance, after a general meeting I asked our members that would better assist them during stressful times such as dead week. The ladies were open to discussing their pain points and from this conversation I was able to conclude that workshops concerning organization and productivity would prove useful to them. After coordinating a workshop around these topics, the executive team including myself received positive commentary on how helpful the workshop was to them. On the other hand, it was crucial to truly listen to the speaker’s stories since it would help me in the process of becoming a better leader to better assist our members and the UWIB community.

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Social Justice: UWIB’s mission in brief  is as follows: “to strive towards advancing the continued progress of women in business through educating and encouraging their individual development as business professionals”. Our efforts assist in creating an environment for females to create meaningful relationships with female professionals and further develop themselves through professionalism workshops. With each meeting we hope to continue empowering undergraduates to continue in their endeavors to breaking the glass ceiling and into male-dominant fields. One specific example of this is UWIB's Closing the Gap. This all day event is a space where members of the Foster and UWIB community can learn more about how to be an ally, empowering other women, and owning your voice in a corporate setting. The goal of this event is to provide community members the tools so they can continue empowering females anywhere and at any stage of their life.

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Problem Solving: I was so excited by the prospect of uniting all the Foster clubs that I was eager to begin the project. Since I knew there were going to be various tasks that I would not be able to do on my own, I was happy to distribute tasks to other club leaders when they offered. One example of a task I distributed was to procure permission to place donation bins in the Husky Union Building. I did not foresee any issues with this task and was surprised at the obstacles presented. With the help of my mentors, I was able to quickly brainstorm potential solutions and solve the problem before it escalated. 

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Organization:  In my role, I was in charge of coordinating various philanthropy events for each quarter. Each event had different required tasks depending on the event itself. During my role, it was crucial to maintain an organized system of the numerous tasks that needed to be completed and also the multiple people I was working with. My calendar was a big factor that helped me to organize my time and the note taking app Bear, in order to have a streamline process to take notes was also helpful. These tools helped me be more efficient during my meetings with club leaders by allowing me to organize deliverables, action items, and deadlines onto a single platform. This also assisted in improving my existing organizational system.

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Creating Change: It is difficult to surmount a systemic issue that has been in existence for years. Many believe that change is something that requires monumental actions that are recognized by the media but, I do not believe this as true. Before our general meetings officially began, officers had time to engage with members. During these times, I was able to share my story, inspire other members, and provide advice concerning college life at the University of Washington. I specifically recall when I was talking to a member and she thanked me for chatting with her. She mentioned how our conversation had cheered her up and made her day. After hearing how I had inspired these girls, I began to understand that even small things such as striking up a conversation can change someone’s day or perspective, helping them for the better.    

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Decision Making: The Back to School donation fundraiser was the first one I ever led. Throughout the month that I led this project, I was faced with many executive decisions from deciding when to reach out for help to bin placement. During this time, I was able to practice my decision-making skills and afterwards reflect and understand the distinction between a rational choice and a rushed one. This in turn began my process of understanding how I could be a better decision maker and the details I need personally in order to make sound choices. If it were not for this experience, I would not have had the space to understand myself and the metal process which I follow when making important resolutions.

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Verbal Communication: One of my strengths is having a Futuristic mindset yet, with this strength can come many frustrations. It was often difficult to articulate my fantastical vision to my team members. With this being said, it was crucial that I take a step back and think through my proposals to ensure that my team members would be able to fully understand my goals, motives, and vision. For example, when I wanted to unite all of the Foster organizations to collaborate in the Back to School Drive, I knew that my vision would not seem achievable if not delivered correctly. In order to do this, I wrote my draft proposal and asked myself what key themes and ideas were essential and needed to be communicated and practiced beforehand to ensure my tone of voice would not cause any reason for confusion or doubt.

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Lessons learned & Future Oriented Statement 

After coordinating a fundraiser and leading a team consisting of 7 student-run organizations, I did not truly realize the scope of my leadership capabilities. This experience helped me develop my soft skills such as communication both in person and online platforms. I was able to articulate my strengths and weaknesses and build teams upon these gaps. With that being said, I strengthen my relationship with other club’s leadership and with my own team. In the future, I will be able to recall the various obstacles I surpassed and the exciting adventures I experienced in my leadership position.