Leadership Vision Board

       My leadership vision board is a representation of my values, my goals, and who I am as a

person. It envisions what I see for my future, like my education and my career, but also my internal principles I follow that I will carry with me throughout life. My vision board features my goal to graduate from the University of Central Florida, become a nurse in the Neo-natal intensive care unit or the mom and baby/postpartum unit, and continue to be mindful, kind, willing to help others, inspire others, and grow. I enjoyed putting my values and my perspectives on leadership onto something you can see. It is one thing to think about being kind and helping others, but it is another thing to see a visual of kindness on a platform that represents who you are.

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       My biggest focus on my board was my future career of being a nurse. My future nursing career is so important to me because I don’t see it as a job, I see it as a way of life and who I am. Nursing embodies all my values and morals, which is why I relate it to my leadership philosophy of servant leadership. Being a nurse, I serve others, and I practice my values of being kind, helpful, and selfless. In the beginning of my high school career, I was lost, I knew my values revolved around being kind, but I felt I had no direction in what I wanted to do in my future. I didn’t have a passion, and I didn’t feel like a leader. An opportunity where I could shadow medical professionals in a hospital, as a high schooler over summer break, was given to me, and I took it. I switched schools, to a school where I could be in the biomedical program. I had no idea that taking these opportunities would have such a profound impact on my life, but it showed me my purpose. I loved shadowing in many units of the hospital but shadowing the nurse in the postpartum unit truly changed my life. When women give birth, it is such a sensitive, vulnerable period. Moms, especially new moms, are scared, tired, in pain, and often anxious about what lies ahead. Watching this nurse treat these women in such a sensitive setting with compassion, kindness, and selflessness was so inspiring to me. I felt a calling when I had this experience, and it made me so excited to comfort my mom and baby patients one day and treat them with kindness and understanding like my nurse did.

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       The experiences I have had have all led me to UCF, to pursue my passion for nursing at one of the best nursing schools in the nation. Being a nurse, caring for others, no matter what position you are in, you are being a leader. Having these experiences has made me embody my future career and strive to practice servant leadership by serving others with kindness and empathy. Being a first-generation student, coming to UCF and leaving my hometown was a big deal for me and my family. My mom didn’t finish high school and my dad was in a trade, following in his father's footsteps and going straight to the workforce after high school. My brother followed my father’s footsteps, so he also didn’t attend college. This was a big change for my family, financially and socially, so I have a lot of pressure on me to do the best I can and not let my family down, and to show them that it will all be worth it when I graduate with good grades and become a nurse.

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       Some of my other values include being mindful. Being in a demanding major, while also having other hobbies such as being on the executive board of a club, it is common to feel burnt out and always on the go, never taking a moment to relax, live in the moment, and breathe. One of my goals is to start practicing mindfulness, not being so hard on myself, and taking moments to slow down and look at the world around me. My responsibilities are important, and I will get everything done so I succeed, but it is important to have a balance. Another one of my values is being a Christian. Going hand in hand with mindfulness, it is easy to get lost in the mix of everything and lose sight of the things that are important to me. I want to practice looking to God more in my times of weakness and when I succeed. I want to learn to remember to be thankful for what I have, because even when I’m feeling overwhelmed and tired, I have amazing opportunities, supportive loved ones around, and overall so many blessings around me that many people don’t get to experience.

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       In conclusion, I don’t see leadership as a position, or just the straightforward concept that some people see. I don’t just practice being a leader when I’m volunteering, or speaking at my club meetings, or in my LEAD class, but all the time. While in those scenarios I may be taking initiative, people don’t even have to know you’re practicing leadership. It can just be used in day-to-day life. It will be used in our careers regardless of position, because being a leader is simply being a good person, a good role model to others, and someone people can look up to. Leadership is helping others by being kind and having a genuine desire to do good for others. I will practice this in my UCF career, and when I reach my goal of graduating, I will use it in my nursing career. I will remember to be mindful in my leadership and stay true to my values, while always continuing to grow and inspire others.