One moment of a leadership opportunity that I engaged in was when the MPH students were paired with undergraduate dental students. This was exciting because it was an example of multidisciplinary work. As one of the MPH students, I decided to create an email group and shared a workspace for the group to collaborate. I know how it can be as an undergraduate student, so I wanted this experience to be as seamless as possible. I helped to steer the group and keep us on track. Another leadership skill I strengthened was learning from the people I work with. You are not going to know it all and even if you have some form of seniority or authority over people in a working group, you still need to be open to learning and listening to them. It was interesting hearing what the dental students had to say and their perspective on health issues. It helped build my confidence in leading a multidisciplinary group.

Another leadership opportunity I engaged in was a group project with fellow MPH students. Two of the group members were having trouble working together and started to get annoyed. I was able to help resolve their conflict by mediating a discussion between the two. It was good to help smooth out an issue, but even more empowering as someone who tends to be conflict-averse. It helped me see conflict as less scary and more opportunity to come together as a team.

An additional leadership opportunity I engaged in was helping students with issues that had in a course. Some students and I exchanged phone numbers so we could study together and stay on track. I was able to help students out with questions they had on assignments or emailing a professor to gain clairity. It was exciting to be able to help other students. It felt good to build trust with other students as someone they could come to.

These leadership opportunities that I was a part of helped to strengthen what I had learned being a kitchen manager at Chipotle. Treating people with respect goes a long way and helps build trust. The skills and experience I had been a manager helped to set me up for leadership roles in the MPH program. Skills only improve if you keep practicing them. I feel confident in my ability to become a leader in a public health capacity.