Personal Introduction
Hi! My name is Jiayin Lu, a student studying at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I am pursuing majors in Mathematics, Statistics and Finance, and will be graduating in December of 2017. I am an international student from Guangzhou, China.
I started the Leadership Certificate program when I was a freshman. It attracted me at the time because I had always been a shy girl growing up, and was intimidated when asked to express my own opinions in a group of people. When I started college, I wanted to change. I wanted to have a fresh start and become bolder in expressing myself. The leadership certificate program seemed to be perfect for me at the time, as I was hoping that it could help me improve my social skills and be more courageous. Later, I found that the program is so much more than that.
In order to fulfill the requirements for the Leadership Certificate, I attended four i-Programs provided by the Illinois Leadership Center, which are Intersect, Integrity, Insight and Innovation. I have learned a great deal through these one-day programs. The structure of these i–Programs is for students to form in groups, exchanging ideas, and discussing and sharing experience with each other. The group activity aspect in the i-Programs is especially beneficial to me, as I get a chance to express my opinions and also listen to others in an open and encouraging environment. What’s more, we get to do group activities together and sometimes even compete with other groups. These group-to-group interactions are fun, and most importantly, they allow me to practice my different potential roles inside a group, and they help students form a sense of collaboration in the group. I have also learned a lot about leadership through these i-Programs. Each i-Program has different themes. In Integrity, I have learned the importance of being an ethical leader and how they can help make the world a better place. In Intersect, I experienced the process of dynamic team building and how a group of people can efficiently work together to achieve common goals. In Insight, I discovered new aspects about myself and identified values that are important to me. I have also learned more about my own strength and weakness and started to understand the importance of being aware of different aspects of myself. Through Innovation, I gained knowledge in how innovation can benefit us, ranging from our daily life to big technological advances. It also helped me realize that there is a wide range of creativity among different people in a group, and it is important for group leaders to be aware of this and assign different tasks that are suitable for different people’s personal tendencies, so the group can function efficiently and effectively.
I have also been active in student organizations and in my work environment. My freshman and sophomore year, I was a trip facilitator for two volunteer trips in the student organization, Illinois Alternative Seasonal Break. Later, I served as a board member in the organization. I was also a Trip Facilitator Trainer, where I helped new members as they prepared for their trips. I have also been working as a mentor for the Mathematics Department for a year. I am currently a Course Leader for an online Mathematics class in the NetMath Department. My role involves not only mentoring students, but also coordinating with the NetMath supervisor to manage other mentors in the course.
To strengthen my theoretical knowledge in leadership, I took two academic courses. One is BADM 310, Management and Organizational Behavior, where I learned different frameworks about organizational behaviors which is extremely important for managing in a business setting. Another one is AGED 260 Introduction to Leadership Studies, where I learned the different theories and models about leadership in history, and the most up-to-date ones that are often used in leadership trainings.
The leadership certificate program motivates me not only to practice and gain more leadership experience, but also to strengthen my knowledge in the subject, which can in turn help me make better decisions when in leadership roles. It has been a challenging yet fun experience in completing my leadership certificate, and I have become a more confident person along the way!
