Buoscio 1 Joey Buoscio UNIV 393 Engaged Learning Reflection April 23rd, 2013 This semester has been

a very chaotic and intense one. When I first added this class to my Loyola Locus shopping cart in the fall, I was convinced I probably would drop it. I missed the first class due to a family death, and upon receiving the syllabus, I really wanted to drop it! Everything about this class seemed so intricate and intimidating. Its bad enough we would have to do all these multimedia assignments (which seemed a lot scarier than they were) plus the ignite presentation, plus all the group work, and all the reading, it all just seemed to be too much. Especially with the passing of my grandmother, I was convinced I could not go forward with this class. My parents, friends, and girlfriend all convinced me to tackle this course head on. Very reluctantly, I did so, and I could not be happier that I did. This class has taught me so much about myself, its unreal. My co-curricular leadership experience is that of the Magister. In my fraternity, Sigma Chi, the Magister is the new member educator. The new member educator prepares the new brothers for initiation into our order. I prepared, organized, and executed weekly tests, study guides, and educational presentations using Microsoft PowerPoint. Being the new member educator has been an amazing experience for me. I ran for it originally because I wanted to push myself to be a better public speaker and a better man. I had to re-learn all of Sigma Chis educational foundation and history so that I could teach them to our new members. This has given me a great appreciation for my brotherhood. It also has taught me to be more comfortable in front of a crowd. The

Buoscio 2 first place to start in wanting to be a better presenter and a better organized person is to do it in small, intimate and comfortable doses. Our newest pledge class, while at first very new to me, warmed up quite fast so each week got easier and easier to teach them and it became an enjoyable experience. My biggest fear with this Magister role was the sheer amount of responsibility I would have. It occurred to me that I am teaching the future of my chapter. Once this set in, I became very uneasy. What if these guys turn out to be idiots? What if they made horrible brothers? All these things ran through my head. I opted at first to use what Sharon Daloz Parks calls the heroism model of leadership. The heroism model of leadership is the cowboy, tough guy, masculine, dominant leader most often portrayed in the media (think Ronald Reagan or FDR). I wanted to use that leadership model because its the only one I knew. My previous leadership experience was in Boy Scouts and that was the only model that lent itself to that situation. After I read a couple different readings for this class, I started to experiment with different modes of leadership. After all this unneeded stress, everything turned out just fine and our chapter had a very successful initiation. This course has taught me self confidence. My confidence grew as this class progressed and as our new pledge class progressed. Getting different perspectives of leadership from our readings really helped to expand my horizons and open my mind up to new and different possibilities. From traditional aspects of leadership to the Social Change Model, to transformational leadership, the course material has given me what I consider to be a full spectrum of the differing leadership models out there. Fortunately, Leadership as a study is relatively new to academia so I am excited to see what the future holds for this field.

Buoscio 3 I plan on going into the fields of law and business after I graduate Loyola. I want to attend law school to obtain a Juris Doctorate. Since I have two business minors here at Loyola, I want to go more into the business aspect of the law spectrum. I am considering pursuing a dual degree program, which is law school and a Master of Business at the same time. This JD/MBA program sounds like a promising idea, and I have the work ethic for it. The professional standards I have learned in this class through assignments like LinkedIn, Ignite Presentation, and others are truly invaluable. Learning how to connect with potential employers and recruiters has given me a boost of excitement and faith in myself I havent had in a long while. While this course was not career specific, the valuable insight and professional charisma that both Patrick and Ashley exemplified and embodied in their weekly meetings was very inspirational to me. Also, this class only met eight times during the semester and this flexibility allowed for greater freedom and movement in crafting our own responses to assignments, readings, and group discussions. I value being independent, and this course allowed me to be me in my own way. This class has taught me to conquer fear and jump head first into things I know nothing. In other words, I learned to truly step out of my comfort zone. I have no doubt in my mind that this class will help me in my future career planning., regardless of the path I choose. My engaged learning experience was quite favorable and my only regret is that I didnt use my undergraduate time more effectively to allow for more engaged learning classes. I would very much like to take some more for my leisure!