Accelerated Leadership Development Program (ALDP) 2015
ALDP was a program offered through ROAR designed to develop its members as leaders in both our organization and community, explore higher education to connect back with us as students to understand our education, and help us grasp the leadership that ROAR guides take on. This program was a series of discussion-based meetings designed to get us thinking about higher education and how that relates to what all people should know, what I came here to learn, and what I came here to teach. Through this program, I gained an understanding of the "why" aspect of my life, and I found that this topic relates extremely well to what I learned in LeaderShape: your core values should guide every decision in your life. In addition, we discussed what we believe everyone should know and the thought process behind the Common Core. What I concluded was that most of what everyone should know is not necessarily taught in a classroom (interpersonal skills, organizational skills, listening skills, etc.). Then, we talked about what we came to UC to learn and teach. Through this, I realized why the University of Cincinnati places such a heavy emphasis on experiential learning: it's how we learn best. We take the skills we are learning in the classroom and we go apply them directly to real life or we go out and try something totally new to broaden our horizons. I know I personally learn best by doing things, not just by sitting in a classroom, so it's refreshing to be in an environment that encourages those types of experiences. I will take everything that I have learned from ALDP and be able to apply them directly into my education and ROAR. I now have a lot to talk about on tours with the topic of experiential learning, and I love being able to have a better grasp on my education and why it is important to have an education of the heart as well as the mind. For more information regarding my experience through ALDP, see the blog that I kept throughout the semester!