Skills
Adaptability
Living on a ship for three months while traveling to eleven countries and balancing a full workload of classes, led me to refine my ability to adapt unlike ever before. As I managed various time zones, languages, currencies, and cultures during my study abroad experience, I learned to adapt swiftly and seamlessly from country to country. One of the biggest tasks I had to carry out during my study abroad experience was ensuring that I excelled in my classes despite the fast-paced nature of my program. However, I can successfully attest that I overcame this challenge while still making the most of all the eleven countries visited. In addition, learning to navigate different countries as a Black woman posed another challenge that I also learned to overcome and adapt to. However, despite all given obstacles, I persevered in unfamiliar settings and adhered to the cultural practices of the countries visited. For instance, in Morocco, I covered my shoulders and knees and abided by their cultural norms to fit in and show respect for the people and spaces I encountered. In the end, I believe that as I was faced with new environments and foreign stimuli, I learned to adapt and make the most of everything given to me!
Problem Solving
Throughout my undergraduate undertakings, I have helped manage many events which have also led me to encounter many issues along the way. One of these events I have overseen was called "Bead Who You Are" which I carried out during my study abroad program. In this event, I was faced with the challenge of figuring out all the logistical matters such as booking a room. While this is typically not a great issue, my study abroad program took place on a ship which led to many limitations in room availability, and I had to work with various individuals, and programming schedules to secure a spot. In addition, I also encountered many rescheduling issues due to other events occurring on the dates I had originally selected. However, after working out these logistical issues, I also had to prepare my materials while traveling and ultimately found myself going to different stores to ensure I had all the supplies for my event. At last, on the day of my event, I also encountered other issues as I had to push the event back due to an impromptu Sexual Assault presentation, however, despite all the obstacles along the way, I was able to successfully carry it out. I believe this was all due to my ability to quickly solve and adapt to all the issues that arose along the way.
Leadership
While being an ambassador for the Center for Undergraduate Research (CUR), I have had to take on various leadership positions that serve the UF student body population. From helping run the Spring Research Symposiums to tabling for various research opportunities, I have had to take on leadership roles to serve my fellow peers. This past year, I had to ensure that as many students as possible knew of the resources available to them through the CUR office, therefore, one of my leadership roles was tabling and presenting to different organizations about our office's resources. Moreover, I also emailed different organizations about our new canvas page and ensured that students knew of the resources connected to the Center for Undergraduate Research. As an ambassador to CUR for the last three years, my willingness to initiate conversations and volunteer at research events has greatly bolstered my leadership skills as I take on the role of guiding students at UF to possible research opportunities.
Organization
In my time as a Semester at Sea Global Ambassador, I have had to rely on my organizational skills to ensure that I can fulfill all my duties alongside my other responsibilities. As a global ambassador, I have had to organize myself to continuously check and reply to the emails of interested students in the program. In the job description for this mentorship program, one of the greatest skills necessary is the ability to remain organized and focused to provide the best impression on prospective students. One of the greatest challenges of holding this position has been fitting it into my schedule as I already have an incredibly busy and demanding schedule. However, using my Google calendar as well as my physical planner to incorporate it into the day and remain organized with my other tasks has allowed me to overcome it. As a result, I have been able to successfully manage this role alongside my classes, part-time job, and other extracurricular involvements.