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Ali Valerio

Dr. Truitt

LDR 3950

28 April 2015

Leadership Mosaic

Because I am a double major with Literature and Writing and Rhetoric, writing is an

incredibly important part of my life. The growth and development of myself as a writer is

heavily associated with my development as a leader. I chose to reflect on items in my leadership

mosaic that came out of past and current classes I’ve taken at the university, each one

contributing to my writing and leadership identity.

The first item that impacted my leadership at the university was the very first English

class I took at UCF, Honors English Composition I. This is a time when I was first introduced to

college-level, analytical writing, and it was quite a transition for me. It was difficult at first, but I

had already come to school equipped with knowledge and experience involving changing my

writing style to fit various situations. So, it wasn’t long before I found the work in this class to

come naturally to me. One textbook I used in the class, Writing about Writing, was significantly

influential in helping me understand literacy and composition theory. I read about the literacy

practices of students like me, and it was through this textbook that I began to be aware of the

literacy practices in my own life. I found a way to understand reading and writing like never

before.

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I used this understanding to write an essay for the class titled “Literacy Lessons as a

Cello Player,” where I analyzed the texts associated with orchestra as a discourse community. I

found myself not only interested in the work but excelling in the course. Students sought me out

for help with their assignments, and I emerged as an unofficial leader. My professor saw this

leadership potential in me, and as a result he offered me a job working with him in the

Department of Writing and Rhetoric. It was from this first composition course that I learned

several key lessons about leadership. First, there is great value in seeing yourself as a leader and

letting those leadership qualities emerge even when you do not have an official title or position.

Second, there is great value in making connects and establishing relationships with leaders.

The next class that affected my leadership was Theory and Practice of Tutoring Writing.

My involvement in this course was a direct result of working with my ENC 1101 professor.

Through engaging in projects with him, I met the director of the University Writing Center who

offered me a job as an undergraduate peer consultant. When this initially occurred, I didn’t at all

feel like I was ready to take on this responsibility. I didn’t feel comfortable or qualified to be in

this position, and at first I declined the offer. But then, I realized something very important. I

knew that if I waited until I was ready to place myself in this leadership position, then I might

have never truly felt ready or qualified enough to do it. So, if I had waited until I was

comfortable, I probably never would have become a tutor in the University Writing Center.

With that in mind, I decided that I would overcome my discomfort and take on the

position anyway. This led me to enroll in the tutor training course, Theory and Practice of

Tutoring Writing. It was an extremely labor-intensive course that really pushed my limits as a

writer and therefor expanded them. The most intensive assignment we did in the course was a

project known as a Conversation Analysis. We were asked to video record one of our

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consultations in the writing center, transcribe 15 minutes of our session, and partake in in-depth

analysis to reflect upon our own tutoring practices. Our essay involved expansive research which

primarily came from our textbook, Between Talk and Teaching: Reconsidering the Writing

Conference by Laurel Johnson Black. While doing this assignment, I found that everything I had

learned in my tutor training course that semester contributed to my reflection of my practices. I

used the book to write my essay titled “Too Much Tutor Talk: Gender Roles and Authority in the

Writing Center.” There were two valuable lessons that I learned from this experience. First,

leadership isn’t always about being comfortable. Sometimes you have to be willing to get out of

your comfort zone in order to be leader, but in doing so you allow yourself to truly grow.

Second, everything you do contributes to your leadership.

The next course I utilized for my mosaic was Theory and Practice of Creative Writing, a

class that I am currently taking. This was my first experience with creative writing, and while I

found myself developing as a creative writer, I also gained new insight to some important

leadership ideals. One textbook that I read in the class was On Writing, a memoir by Stephen

King. I had never really read much of King’s work before, but I found the book to be

instrumental in helping me understand my writing life. Learning about his experiences and

identity as a writer ultimately helped me shape my own writer identity, and further leadership

identity. Through this experience, I took away two important concepts. First, studying other

leaders in your field is very important and beneficial to grow yourself as a leader in that field.

Second, a strong leader is one who always desires to learn more.

The final piece of my leadership mosaic involves another class that I am currently taking

at UCF, Honors Writing for Publication. Before taking this class, I didn’t know much about the

publishing field or the publication process. It was through the course that I gained substantial

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new understanding about this particular industry. One recurring assignment in which I took part

was a class blog. During each segment of the course we posted about our research in the industry

and engaged in discussion with our classmates. At first, I wasn’t looking forward to contributing

to the blog. But as time went on, I began to see it less as a homework assignment as more as a

powerful tool. Instead of waiting to do my posts and not giving them my all, I ended up investing

more time and energy into them, and as a result the blog impacted me even more strongly.

It was through this course that I learned two more key leadership ideals. First, leadership

is about choices. There may be few times in life where you are really forced to do your very best

and invest yourself completely in a task. Most of the time, that level of investment and

commitment is up to you. You truly get out of your experiences what you put into them. Second,

there is incredible value in establishing relationships not only with current leaders, but upcoming

ones as well. Through the work that my classmates did in the course, they emerged not just as

students but as upcoming leaders in their own publishing fields. Taking time to make those

connections before leaders reach their potential can help ensure that those connections are

strengthened and re-enforced when the time comes for those leaders to truly establish their

identities as leaders.

The classes that I took while studying writing and literature have truly shaped not only

my writing practices, but my leadership practices as well. I have found that understanding and

utilizing these concepts have been integral in helping me reach my leadership potential. I believe

that students who also engage in these concepts will find leadership success, both at the

university and in years to come.