Conference Brings Community College Student Leaders Together

Earlier this month, the Reynolds Ambassadors and JSR Lead students attended a state-wide leadership conference for community college students held in Williamsburg, Virginia. Over the course of three days, we met unique people and listened to wonderful keynote speakers who inspired us to continue reaching for our goals.

Our first keynote speaker was Jerome Love, author of the book Get Up, Get Out, and Get Something. He informed us that success does not happen on its own.  You have to get up, get motivated and make it happen for yourself. Our next keynote speaker was Alexis Jones who is an author and social entrepreneur. As she spoke everyone was just amazed by her story. She did not have a lot growing up but she visualized a dream and went for it.  Her message was plain and simple—do not let your past dictate your future. You can always turn the very worst situation to the very best situation.

What made the conference even more exciting for me was the fact that I was surrounded by hundreds of fellow students who were leaders at their colleges as well. It lets you know that you are not the only one standing to make a difference in society as there are many others standing to do the same. Throughout the conference, several principles were highlighted: put what you learn to good use; secure multiple successes over time as you continue to reach for your big goals; recognize the leadership ability in others and encourage them to put it to good use; address issues of social justice; make the community better; develop rather than deplete our natural resources; and undertake activist engagement with the environment. Following these seven principles of sustainable leadership can make the road to success so much easier.

Expecting Great Things

The Great Expectations program at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College has been a great experience for me. I started in the program my first year at the college and I have been part of it since then. Great Expectations was created to help assist and aid foster care students who have enrolled in college. Statistics say that only two percent of foster care students make it through college. Soon that will change as I, and many others in the Great Expectations program, will make it to the top!

Without my Great Expectations coach, school would have been more difficult. It would be difficult to meet with an advisor in the Student Success Center as my schedule is always hectic. I know I can always count on her when I need someone to talk to. My coach always keeps me interested in activities or events just for me to have something fun and stress free to do.  If I was on a game show and I was a question away from winning a million dollars and I was allowed to call one person, there’s no doubt in my mind that my Great Expectations coach would be that person I would call.

One event that always keeps me sparked about the program is the Annual Great Expectations Forum hosted by the former First Lady of Virginia Anne Holton. I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of several student panels which discuss the impact of the program with community leaders who impact the college. The people who run this event are of great importance and they are interested in our lives and how we live them. They are inspired by our stories. They are eager to learn of our past successes and struggles, but are willing to help make a difference in our futures as well. The annual forum gives former and current foster care kids hope because it shows us that there are good people out there cheering us on until graduation and beyond. We realize that we are inspiring the next students of foster care to continue their educations as well. That’s a great feeling.

A Message to High School Seniors

Right now you are probably filling out college applications and looking forward to a new beginning. Soon you will be leaving home and hopefully enrolling in the college of your choice. Amid all the excitement, keep in mind that being a college student is not the same as being a high school student. Your first semester in college will be an eye opener.  Instead of getting on the school bus to get to school, you will have to walk, catch the bus, or drive if you live off campus. Here are some tips to ensure you will have a rocking first semester.

Your first semester is critical. You need to decide how many classes are you going to take and ask yourself, ‘’Why did I come to college?’’ Once you figure that out, you then need to ask yourself ‘’Do I want (or need) to work and go to school?’’ If so, you need to create a manageable class schedule and a work schedule, and make sure they never overlap each other. For students like me who work and go to school, it is important to know if you are a day person, evening person, or a night person.  Once you figure that out you will know how to manage your work and class schedules even better.

Most people who work will try to set up classes on days they do not work. Doing this will give you time to study, relax, and have fun on those days you are off. However, I warn you that it is easy to lose track and have too much fun on those days. You must know how to balance your leisure time with important assignments that may be coming up. For instance, if you know you have a test coming up in three weeks, you should probably request off certain days so that you can have more time to study. You have to be disciplined though, because your friends will most definitely want you to go out when they know that you’re off.

It is also important to develop a study routine that will be just enough to not stress you out, but make you confident that you have learned the material you are studying. I like to study a different subject each day, starting from the easiest and working my way up to the hardest. Depending on what assignments are coming up, I sometimes have to cram for two of my subjects on one day. However, I advise you not to study math and a foreign language on the same day because your mind will be all over the place. Another approach you can take is to study the material for each class for 30 minutes a day.  While doing so, I suggest you take a 15-minute break between each subject to give your mind time to refresh.  If you follow these simple tips, there is no doubt in my mind that you will be on your way to having a successful first semester.

Reynolds Ambassador Update #2

The life of a Reynolds Ambassador is never boring. The last time we all were together was during the last S.O.A.R session, so everyone was pretty excited to meet up with each other again to talk about upcoming events and the start of the J.S.R. Lead program. The J.S.R. Lead program helps students tap into their leadership abilities.  The program will consist of eight weeks of teambuilding, fun and leadership development workshops. In November, we will attend a big leadership conference where student leaders from different community colleges join together.                      

As everyone started to walk into the room, I could not help but notice the unique individuals that were chosen to be part of this program. In addition to the Reynolds Ambassadors, we had students that were from places I never heard of. It was pretty neat to meet people with backgrounds different than my own.  Although I have yet to remember everyone’s name, I do know that we all have amazing stories concerning why and how we all chose to come to J. Sargeant Reynolds. As we sat around in a circle we played games to get to know each other a little better. In one of the games, we had a long list of hobbies on a piece of paper and we had to go up to each person, introduce ourselves and get the individual to sign their initials under their favorite hobby. I believe this was a great way to break the ice.

October 6, 2011  

Earlier tonight, the Reynolds Ambassadors attended the Local Officials Dinner with JSRCC president Gary L. Rhodes. We were all excited about the dinner and the opportunity to meet people that support the College. We wore our new ambassador blazers, and as we walked into the room, everyone greeted us with handshakes and smiles. During the dinner, I sat at the table with College Board members and elected officials from Henrico County and the City of Richmond.  As the night went on, Dr. Rhodes updated the audience on new projects that the College is working on. I was amazed at how fast J. Sarge is growing and evolving. The Downtown Campus is going to look just as nice as the Parham Road Campus. The Parham Road Campus will eventually have a new building for science, technology, engineering and math programs. Also, the Workforce Training and Conference Center is almost ready to open. (I joked that before you know it we are going to have dorms as well.) I was really excited to hear that there will be a campus in Varina. The campus will be in an area where the only Civil War battle was fought in which African-Americans were awarded Medals of Honor.  Although I will have transferred to a four-year university by the time that campus opens, I am excited about what the future holds for JSRCC.

Finding the Strength to Succeed

It is now Oct 16, and we are getting close to only having eight weeks of school left before the new semester. The Reynolds Ambassadors have been focusing on leadership development. We are reading a book titled Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath which comes with an assessment of a person’s leadership abilities. The assessment is used to help people discover and realize their top five strengths. My top five strengths are strategy, communication, competition, positivity and WOO (winning others over). The book presents a chapter for each of the strengths, discussing the pros and cons of each.  Last week we had our first class session where we were all put into groups with strengths similar to our own. It was amazing to be in a group of people who possess the same qualities as me.

Last Saturday our groups completed a high ropes challenge course. That course tested us personally but it also tested and strengthened our bond as a team. We all pushed ourselves when we were faced with adversity. A person could not complete a challenge without the help of everyone else. The last high rope challenge really put our capabilities to the test as we were 40 feet in the air. This was an exciting and scary experience because the safety of each person was on the line and we had to trust our teammates to successfully complete the challenge. Participation in these activities helped us realize that in order to have a strong team we must trust one another. We must also acknowledge and be supportive of everyone’s strengths and weakness.

My Reynolds Ambassadors Experience

           Being a part of the Reynolds Ambassadors program has been a great experience. I have met a lot of people and experienced many new things and it is only September. When the program started in May, none of us really knew what we were getting into as we sat around the table filling out paperwork. Before we knew it, we were doing training for S.O.A.R. which is a program that freshmen attend where we help them find their way around campus and schedule classes. For four weeks, we were practicing leading tours at the Downtown and Parham Road campuses. We also held rehearsal for our skit about values at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College.

            On the first day of student orientation, there we were seven of us standing tall—Zack, Phoebe, Carolyn, Angela, Cheri, Moe and I. We all came together for one purpose—to prepare first year students for their first semester, making sure that each student left with all their questions answered. Because of the anticipated volume of freshmen, we had help from members of Student Council.

Our first S.O.A.R. started at the Parham Road Campus. Everyone had to report to campus by 7:30 a.m. We all gathered around the front of Georgiadis Hall to greet the students and their parents as they arrived. All of all sudden, people started swarming into the building from left and right. For about an hour, everyone was either helping students with their user names and passwords, checking people in or directing students to the different display options we had available. After an hour of doing that, we gathered the students and parents into the auditorium. Then Dean of Students Dr. Brian Richardson did his opening speech to warm up the crowd for us. This took about 10 minutes and we became very fond of his wrap up side joke to finish his speech.

“The people you see here wearing those shirts represent student leaders at our college and they are here to help you. Now I have a question. Are those shirts forest green or are they hunter green? If you can come up with the right answer you will win a prize.”

(I still do not know the answer to that question about the color of our Ambassadors' shirts.)

             After Dr. Richardson’s speech, each of us went to the stage and introduced ourselves and told everyone our majors. Next, we did our little skit, that I’m proud to say got a big applause. After the skit, we dismissed for tours and the Jeopardy game. The game taught the students about some of the policies and procedures that are in place at J. Sargeant Reynolds. Sometimes the game got really intense as everyone was going neck and neck, trying to raise their hands first. In the end, they all were winners and each student was given a free flash drive. After the Jeopardy game, the ambassadors presented a 30 minute tour of the Parham Road Campus. When we did tours at the Downtown Campus we were given the same amount of time. It was easier and faster to do the tours Downtown because we were not hot and we had access to elevators and steps. The Parham tours required a lot of walking outside and it was very hot. 

After the tours and the jeopardy game, the new students went to advising and registration. The students were separated by major and were sent to different locations to get started. This process took a couple of hours because each student’s schedule had to be setup to start them on the path to success.

At the conclusion of the S.O.A.R. session, we came together to discuss how the day went. We laughed at how some of the crazy parents would try to sneak out of their own sessions in the auditorium and go to their child’s sessions to see which classes they were registering for. S.O.A.R. officially ended two weeks before school started.

 During the first week of school, we were helping students find their classes and print class schedules. We also had a Back to School Fair, where we helped served popcorn, pizza, drinks, and free school supplies. This really wrapped up the summer session of my Ambassador experience. I can’t wait to see what is in store for the rest of the academic year.