ISLE

Hey all. So far I've really been enjoying class and getting to know everyone and I can't wait for the group dynamics to increase even more as the semester goes by! Last Tuesday I went to the Iowa State Leadership Experience not really knowing what to expect. I ended up having a great time though, learning some new concepts and having some old ones reinforced.

The first session I went to was titled 'Leading Better Through Your Experiences.' We were broken into groups of three to discuss a leader in our lives and an experience that made them stand out as a leader to us. We discussed the three concepts of ethos, pathos, and logos as well. I didn't think I would ever hear of them again after my speech class last year, but here they are again. It's amazing how important a role they play in leadership, even without us really realizing it. Ethos is credibility, pathos emotions, and logos logic. It's important that all three are incorporated to be an effetive leader, even though each can be seen and interpreted differently by each person you come across.

The last session I went to was titled 'Balance for the Leader.' It was nice to go sit through this one, even though I had heard it all before. It was all about not spending too much of your time doing only one thing. Father Seda's example was studying. While it's very important to study for classes, we shouldn't spend all our time doing it. We can miss out on friendships and overall just get burnt out. It's important as well to take some time out and balance it with a real life, like going out with your friends and just taking some time for yourself. It was really good to just go over these points again and have them reenforced, because with my busy schedule I tend to forget them sometimes. It's so easy to loose myself in the moment when I'm worrying about a class, but taking a break really is beneficial. It gives me a chance to calm down and is refreshing.

Well I guess I'll wrap this up. I'll see you all at the retreat later today! :)

Kelly