A few weeks ago, three upperclassmen, Katie Roger, Mitchell Lincoln, and Lucas Novotany, came to talk to us about leadership at Coe. This was very influential to see how right here in our community we can try to make a difference. It is not easy, and it takes some time management and hard work to achieve this status but they showed that it is worth it. They also touched on what kinds of leaders they are, from the class President and club involvement leader, to the day to day life leader. This person leads by example, they are not always in the spotlight, but they are noticed and their peers follow them. All of these leaders are needed in the community and do make a difference. It was great to hear from peers here at Coe who can relate to our situations better than a CEO from a large company.

I enjoyed the session about Big Brothers Big Sisters by Linda Henecke. She is a Coe graduate who has made a full time career off of a company that was never around a few decades ago. She showed how to have a passion for what we do in our lives. It was also interesting to see how much money it takes to run a program like this one and where all of the money comes from. I like how they show the pictures of the children waiting for a potential brother/sister in their lobby because it does help to show why they are there. I also think it is sad that there are more boys waiting for a brother which takes longer for a match to come up. She is a motivated individual and I enjoyed listening to her speak.

I just got off the phone with Normand Cartier. He was the man in the film Lost in Woonsocket. This weekend, he will be in Cedar Rapids speaking at the screening of the film. I have been organizing this since June and it feels great for the day to finally come. This of course means I am feeling the pressure of making this event a success. As I have been fundraising, advertising, and meeting with people, I am very encouraged to hear how much people are looking forward to seeing this film. At the same time, some days I feel like there will be a lot of people coming, and I may have to figure out what to do with very large crowds, but other days I don't think many people will show up at all. People continuously tell me how apathetic the community is and how hard it is to get people to come to an event like this. I am hoping that putting up 400 posters, playing announcements on the radio, having articles in the Gazette, and having KCRG cover the story will help fill the seats on Saturday. Saturday April 19th 9:30am and 10:00am Collins Road Theater 1462 Twixt Town Road, Marion.

Erik Albinson taught me a lot of things I didn't know. I had never really thought too much about what advantages I have for just being a white male. Of course, I had heard about all the racism that has taken place in America. However, I was apparently nieve to think that it doesn't happen as much anymore and that it was mostly in the past. Over spring break, I saw the movie Beyond the Gates. (http://beyondthegates-movie.com/) Please watch the trailer. It probes the question "What would you risk to make a difference?". It shows the genocide in Rwanda with two Catholic Americans trapped in the middle trying to save lives. No one in the theatre could hold back their emotions. It really made me think about how useless "hate" is. Why do we hate people we don't know? Where do those ideas and motives come from that cause people to murder others just because of their race or ethnicity? Why?...Why?

Linda Henecke has quite the giving spirit. I have been praying that God would show me where he wants me and how he wants me to work for him. It's refreshing to see people like Linda who have already found that. Everytime I see someone who is giving their heart to help others, I always think, "I wish I could be like them." The best part is as I say that more and more, it becomes, "I want to be like them" then, "I think I could be like them", now it's "What can I do right now to become someone like them" and "I know that I need to be like them". That was all a lot of incoherent rambling in order for me to say that the most important goal in my life is to change people's lives and show them how amazing they can be with God in their life. After college, I plan on doing some mission work. Then, I want to go to seminary or bible college and be a youth pastor.

I really enjoyed Diana Patten's presentation. She really helped to show what qualities a leader needs to have. As I am taking on more and more leadership roles, the resources of others is becoming my greatest asset. I need to know how I can use other members of the group to their fullest ability rather than me trying to do everything myself. I am becoming better at delegating. I also agree with her that Apollo 13 is a wonderful film. It is incredible to think about how well those leaders reacted. They wouldn't accept "We can't do it" as an answer. They had to find a way to bring those men back, and they did. They were able to think on their feet quickly, delegate properly, and problem solve using all their resources.

When I went to volunteer at the elementary school today, it was a little different. Instead of working with just one kindergarten student, I got two. It was bit more difficult because being so young they didn't listen to well. My goal was to keep them on task and to follow the rules. It was a little difficult, but fun once I told them we were going to be playing Word BINGO if they behaved. That seemed to do the trick. Playing the game was fun, because even though they thought it was just a game they were actually learning new words. It was fun helping them read the new words and it made me smile to see the one boy that I have been working with all semester speak more English than he has before.

The presentation Diana Patten gave was very helpful. I found out about Career Services which will be very helpful in the future. She talked about the different types of leaders there are, and what key elements make up a leader. I think my favorite part was the trust activity we did. I was the one who was leading the person with their eyes closed. It made me happy that the person trusted me and we got through the maze just fine. I learned though, that my instructions had to be very clear, and I had to be confident in what I was saying otherwise my partner would be a little skeptical when taking steps.

Volunteering in General:
All in all, I don't feel as though my volunteer experience was as well-rounded as it should have been. Although I do enjoy sticking with one organization and concentrating my time and effort on them, I think I should have spent more time exploring all of the volunteer opportunities that were out there. In the end, I found an excellent organization, Jane Boyd, that I look forward to working with next year and the years to come.

Involvement on Coe Campus:
Another one of the Crimson and Gold Sessions I really enjoyed this semester was the one that Katie Rogers spoke at concerning campus involvement. I have been rather involved for my first year at college, but there is always more that I want to be involved in. Issues such as time management and different ways of being a leader were appropriately addressed. It was nice to hear about the Coe experience from the upperclassmen. It was both relatable and helpful.

File Sorting:
I am starting a new volunteer project to finish out my hours for this semester. I will be volunteering at Foundation 2 with file sorting. It sounds extraordinarily boring at first. However, it turns out that the organization has thousands of files of people they have helped in the past that need to be looked through. I had never heard of Foundation 2 before I decided to do my volunteer hours there. They actually have a relatively broad category of services. They do crisis help for both youth and adults. They help homeless families obtain food, and they help children moving out of their homes for the first time find decent appartments.

Diversity:
I believe my favorite Crimson and Gold session this year was the one that Erik Albinson spoke at concerning diversity. The topic of diversity on Coe's campus is actually something I had a discussion about with a group of people the previous night, and his talk emphasized some of the things we had discussed. I am really interested in getting more involved in the diversity movements on Coe's campus, and I am hoping I will have enough time next year to do just that.

Jane Boyd:
I am continuing to go to Jane Boyd this semester. I have allready been back 6 times. I really enjoy every time I go. I really love the kids. They are a bit crazy, but I can handle it. I am currently working on a project with Jane Boyd in attempt to implement an art program. It is currently on hold until the fall, but I have made the appropriate contacts and I have my plan of action. The art program I want to start will allow the kids to create their own projects and put them on showcase in order to raise money for Jane Boyd. I am extremely excited!

The presentation that Erik Albinson gave was really intersting. The pictures he showed were really shocking, and it's amazing to see that there are people out there who are so closed minded. I think a good thing to take out of the presentation is to be open minded to anything, and don't fear the unknown.

Erik shared a story about how he became friends with someone while he was an RA at college, and his friend had never been friends with anyone from a different race. I think that is a great example of stepping out of your comfort zone to learn more about the world and about other cultures.

I've been working with ELL students at an elementary school here in Cedar Rapids, and I've really enjoyed the experience. One particular event that was fun, was helping a class build a city. The class and I walked around the neighborhood by the school, and identified key things that are needed in a neighborhood to make it safe. The kids pointed out a hospital, fire station, and police station. It was really fun helping them out. One thing that I really enjoyed is that while walking with the class, one little boy said that in the city he wanted to put a building for recycling. I never knew that kids that young would even think about that. I also noticed that while we were walking this same little boy was picking up trash that he saw. It was just nice to see kids take in interest in trying to help keep the city clean.

I thought that the last CCG session we had about Big Brothers Big Sisters was really interesting. I think it was good to learn all the behind the scenes stuff that goes on in order to make the program work. I was also very impressed at how many companies donate money to the program because it shows that a lot of people think it is important. I really enjoyed how the speaker gave different ideas in order to promote the programs, and she gave good tips on how to be an effective leader. Seeing as how I like working with kids, I think it would be very fun to have a little sister or brother that way I could hopefully have a positive impact on their life.

Last night was my sixth meeting at Crimson and Gold and Linda Henecke was there to talk to us about Big Brothers, Big Sisters a volunteer program that she runs. She told us to do something that we were passionate about and follow that dream. Her stories were really interesting especially how the program is continuing to grow and her own personal stories with the program. I participate in the Lunch Buddies program at Polke elementary which is associated with this program so it was neat to hear the history of the program and listen to her views about leadership

I really enjoyed the session with Diana Patten a few months ago. She had an intriguing presentation that was very active and informative. Leaders come in many shapes and sizes and she showed us that very well today. I had not previously known the numerous leadership roles so this was exciting to see. She is also a member of the Career Services team and told us about that as well, which was very informative for me. We ended by having an obstacle course that involved a blindfold. This would have been really challenging if the person being blindfolded did not have someone there to guide them. This was a great exercise to show how much a team needs reliability and most of all trust.

Over Spring Break this year, I went to New Orleans to help rebuild houses with a group of students. I went down there with the mentality that we were going to get a lot done and change the city. In reality, the city changed me. This city was nearly destroyed but what I enjoyed the most was seeing the light in places I never expected. Listening to some of the survivors' stories put things into perspective for me. We have all heard the statistics of how many people died and how many houses were destroyed, but now I know that these people are just like you and me. Some had lived in their house almost their whole life until Katrina came in and left nothing but memories. Of all the volunteer work that I have done in my life, I felt like this is was a true service to our society. We spent a week putting flooring into the house but I feel like I have done so much more. If anyone has the opportunity to travel to the gulf coast to see the destruction, I suggest to take the chance.

Ken Morris’s presentation was fascinating. I did not know a whole lot about energy plants. He articulately wove in information about his power plant with his leadership experience. Morris had some really valuable information about being a leader. It was clear that he had read books on the subject and also had hands on experience. Having graduated from Coe, Morris offered insights regarding getting involved and becoming a leader on campus. His perspective, having already graduated from Coe was incredibly valuable.

I went to the University of Iowa to participate in polling. The purpose of the poll was to see American’s opinions regarding presidential candidates. It was an interesting experience as some people had some weird responses to the questions. I also volunteered again to enter post-caucus polls. Volunteering was a great way to learn more about politics, outside of the classroom.

Diana Patten’s presentation was a wonderful learning experience. Her information about different leadership styles proved to be very informative. Her presentation enabled us to learn more about her leadership experience and recognize our own leadership experiences. The obstacle course that she had for us at the end was a great culminating of activity.

I really enjoyed Erik's presentation. I found the messages of the white supremacists to be shocking. I honestly thought that the KKK was a thing of the past. It was eye-opening to realize that they are still around and actively recruiting members. In a day and age where we consider ourselves to a racially integrated and welcoming society, it was appalling to realize that people are racist. I was inspired to see what I could do to help improve this situation.

I made another trip to Mission of Hope this last Saturday to volunteer for a couple hours. I hadn't been there in a while, so I was amazed when I was welcomed in by Pastor Barb with a warm smile and a hug! She was so excited to have the three of us volunteers there. Again, we did not accomplish much. She had a tour group coming in and the two people I brought along joined them since they had not been to Mission of Hope before. I answered the phone and cleaned up a bit. Then we all went to see the Mission of Hope 24 hour shelter house. It was so nice. Mission of Hope really is a great organization and the two people I took there really enjoyed it. I feel that just by connecting them to Mission of Hope (they are already planning on going back) I did more than any amount of work I could have accomplished Saturday afternoon.

A few weeks ago I attended the presentation by Erik Albinson. I had heard this presentation before in RA training, but it was not any less moving. He touches on some really hard, deep-down scary issues. One could spend a lifetime learning about these and hoping to understand them. He also brought up other points, too.

One theory he talks about I find very interesting: the broken window theory. If one window in a building is broken and is not fixed, eventually all the windows will be broken. The story he shared was were a mayor decreased crime in a large city by 70% by simply painting the subway trains every morning to eliminate the graffiti and arresting those who jumped over the toll wheels.

I have always believed that small acts make giant impacts, and this incident definitely confirms that. By offering a small gesture of kindness or a simple act of leadership, we can have a lasting effect on the world around us. This idea really makes me happy. It also makes me wonder why there are so many problems with hate and crime. Supposedly it could all be prevented by a few simple gestures. This seems to be a thought process that could go round and round in circles forever.