Within the MPH program, there have been numerous opportunities in which I’ve been able to showcase my leadership skills. Each of these opportunities has allowed me to grow more confident as I was challenged to step out of my comfort zone and exude how I can represent myself alone as well as in a team.

One the many opportunities of leadership was in the MPH 632 course in which I was challenged to speak in front of the entire class. Each student was given the task to read a 200+ document in which later we’d reference when questioned on it. This challenge was different as I was not aware of the prompted questions before hand, making the experience much more intimidating. Due to the lack of opportunity for preparation, I had no choice but to be confident and answer to the best of my ability. I believe this impacted my learning as when I move into my career, I will not always get the chance to prepare; therefore, it is important to always be confident in myself and stay educated as much as possible. I ended up receiving a good grade on the assignment and was very proud of myself for staying grounded and not panicking in the moment.

Once again in MPH 632, a leadership opportunity I engaged in was a group press conference in which each of the members took on a specific role. My role in the press conference was head of the public health department. Taking on the role was difficult as these press conferences were purposed in addressing public health emergencies; moreover, my role came with a lot of responsibilities to answering questions. The intimidation the instructor prefaced the conference made executing my role more challenging as the experience reflected a real press conference. I successfully completed the assignment by once again being confident in my choice of words as well as utilizing dialogue that would make a population feel as if their concerns were heard and validated. This impacted my learning as it gave me a chance to practice public speaking in a different light in which all eyes are on me. I also was educated on the importance of knowing what to say and how to say it in specific moment because effective communication during public disasters is important to how the public will perceive the situation.

My last example of a leadership opportunity I engaged in within the MPH program is simply being an asynchronous student. This was an opportunity of leadership as I was faced with the challenge of managing full-time employment while also being a full-time student. This represents leadership as I had to be diligent with my time as well as allocate the right amount of energy to my studies no matter how physically and mentally exhausted I felt. The skill I most learned in this leadership opportunity was discipline as I have been able to juggle multiple events in my life while still focusing on my studies. This skill has impacted my learning as I have been able to better manage my time and also push through the challenges I face in order to come out on top in my school work.