Most freshman in college look to become involved in experiences connected to their interests; this is exactly what I did my freshman year. In my second semester of my freshman year, I saw a flyer posted on the wall of my dorm building advertising Global Wildlife Club. At the time I was also involved in the Zoology Club but this club did not have regular meetings, so I wanted to try something new. I thought Global Wildlife Club was an already established club with many members, but my expectations were completely wrong. When I arrived at the first meeting, in February of 2022, it was only the leader of the club, and I was the first member. He gave me his vison of what he wanted the club to be and asked for help generating ideas for activities as well as encouraging others to join. I decided I wanted to be involved and began messaging other zoology peers to inquire if they would be interested in coming to the next meeting. The club was small, but we all had an immense passion for wildlife that drove some great conversations.

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           I had never seen what it was like to join a brand-new club and very quickly learned the trials and tribulations associated with a student led organization. The leader of the organization had a definitive idea of things he wanted to do within the club and stuck to that mission, so the remaining club members did not have much power to change aspects of the club. This clashed with my own values as a leader. One of my strengths as a leader is to listen to others input and change things based on what other members wanted. I was able to utilize this strength by listening to others, however, when these ideas were presented to the leader they were not taken and utilized to better the club. For instance, it was suggested we take a trip to a zoo nearby and after some brief discussion regarding which days’ work best, the subject was dropped due to our busy schedules and lectures on groups of animals were continued by the leader. I wish there was more effort for a trip, or a date was set far in the future so everyone could plan for the adventure.

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           There were many times when other club members and I would communicate with each other before or after meetings when the president was not present. We would talk about ideas and hopes we had for the organization. These communication sessions were helpful for us to rant to each other and express feelings. On the other hand, nothing changed in the long run because the full organization was not involved in these conversations, and we did not act on some of the conversations. It would have been a good idea for us to express those feelings to the leader as well in a more forward way. When we did present ideas kindly such as “What if we did things differently? Many of us are not interested in the animal lectures every week”, they were not taken and utilized to better the club. This is why we did not further express feelings because they were likely to just be dismissed. During meetings, I would zone out and not listen to the leader’s animal presentations. It felt as though I was in another lecture or that I should be working and taking notes. I communicated this in the rant sessions with other club members and they agreed. When I joined a club, I expected to find community in a fun and relaxing way. I did find community and even a roommate for one year, but I was not enjoying these Thursday night lectures when I had already been to four different classes earlier that day. The lack of change and not having a voice created many frustrations and some new members did not show up to meetings periodically, including myself. I had found a new hobby of rock climbing on campus and found more joy in going climbing compared to the club meetings.

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           Another strength of mine I did not utilize during this experience was my ability to take on and organize projects. I did not step in to set up trips and experiences like other members had suggested even though it would have been possible even with zero funding in the club. We could have visited Como in St. Paul or smaller zoos around Mankato such as the Reptile and Amphibian Discover Zoo (RAD Zoo). I did not use this strength because I was worried about the push back, I may get from the leader because he had connections to the Minnesota Zoo that may help me to get jobs in the future. Further, one of my strengths in leading as identified by the StrengthsFinder assessment is “harmony”, or a person who tries to avoid conflict by finding common ground and working together as a team. I was able to get other club members to agree on similar issues, but I did not execute change to the leader, potentially due to the fear of no harmony. Currently, I feel as though I do what is best for myself and others, especially after other life experiences that taught me this skill. Another reason I did not lean into this strength is that I was less experienced with organizing large trips than I am currently, I did not have skills and confidence to move forward with this on my own. I feel if a similar situation presented itself now, I would have the confidence to express my feelings and be a voice for others while also instigating action and solutions.

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           The club had final meetings in the spring of 2022 and did not continue in the fall because the leader transferred to a different school. The remaining members of the club were older than I was and starting to get to higher level classes. I was doing the same and none of us had a passion to continue the club and it dissipated.

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           Through this club I used my expertise in listening to people, which I believe is an excellent quality for a leader. It is especially important to get other opinions and keep yourself in check. Getting feedback from others can boost morale of groups and ensure everyone is getting what they want out of the experience. I have learned this is an important skill through youth groups in church, coworkers, and friends. I have received compliments regarding my excellent listening skills and how people feel validated when communicating with me. These compliments have made me value listening on a deeper value because I see the impact it makes on people. I have been in conversations with old friends and supervisors where I feel listened to and seen, and I have realized how good that can make people feel which is why I continue to utilize that strength. I will look back on this experience in the future if I have a colleague that is difficult to work with to grow in the strengths I did not use. If I take initiative on a project that is something a boss should be working on, I would be overstepping my power in my position. A possible solution to this may be bringing the idea to the supervisor’s attention. If no action is taken and I believe it is important to the well-being of coworkers, I could bring it to the attention of the next level boss. Taking initiative in this experience was likely over stepping because I was not the leader of the club, it would have likely been socially unacceptable for me to jump to the front and change things. I did not have control over the activities. Knowing what role, you play in a group setting can be important when creating relationships because overstepping your duties can lead to potential conflict. For example, if a future supervisor is running a meeting a colleague beneath them cannot jump out of their chairs and express that the supervisor is incorrect and should maybe do so in a private manner. On the other hand, if I am in a seminar and someone is presenting research and I notice inaccuracies it would be important to mention such things. Knowing that the questions portion of the seminar, is the place to suggest changes is important instead of interrupting the presentation.  

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           The other club members, and I, needed to communicate more effectively with the leader and the leader needed to do a better job listening and utilizing the suggestions we were giving as he mentioned he would do in the first meeting of club. Through my experience with the club, it has become apparent to me how important being collaborative and receiving feedback can be in the success of a group.