Astrud blogs for SMU Student Adventues - Student Adventures

Astrud, Texas & Connecticut

Astrud, who is majoring in biology and minoring in chemistry and international studies, is attending Leadershape, a 6-day conference in Bridgeport, Texas, on leading with integrity. Afterwards, Astrud will go to Yale University (New Haven, CT) for six weeks to attend the Summer Medical Dental Education Program.

June 17, 2007

Sirens Wake-Up Calls
There’s nothing like getting a pre-wake up call from an ambulance. And there is no sarcasm in that statement. The startling and loud sounds of ambulances coming and going got me really pumped up to start the morning right by getting up once the alarm clock goes off. I must admit that it was tempting to squeeze in a couple more hours and return to Sandman Land, but I fought the urge and instead went to the library to check e-mail. My internet for some reason is not working, and it has something to do with the NetId that I received from Yale. However, I have received promises that things will be fixed come Tuesday or Wednesday. So far, I have not pulled out my hair over not being able to retrieve my e-mails or Facebook messages in a timely manner. Let us all hope that the trend continues.

Food Debit Card
The words Hospital Cafeteria probably evoke a lot of emotions varying from dislike to disgust. However, I will give you the insider’s perspective (at least for Yale-New Haven) - It really is not as bad as you think. All of our meals will come from one of the three hospital cafeterias around the area. The best part is that they are free! We are given a meal card which has a non-transferable daily balance of $17.00. The first time I saw the monetary value, my heart skipped a beat. I was pretty confident it could get me through two meals a day, but I thought three would be a stretch. Of course I was wrong because the people here at SMDEP know what they’re doing! We get a 15% discount simply for being affiliated with Yale University. Check this out - Breakfast cost me $3.05. That’s corned beef, a huge bagel with cream cheese and a 20 oz bottle of apple juice. Not bad, right? Lunch offered more variety. Dinner tonight was free since we had orientation shortly after that. The leftover money was wisely spent as I went back to the hospital and spent it on drinks and a couple of munchies. I’m loving the fact that the program does not simply focus on academics, but also wants to teach us to manage our finances. We were given little piggy banks as part of the program, and we will even have Financial Planning Classes! Outstanding!

The Tour Guide Comes Out of Me
Leave it to me to explore most of what Yale and New Haven offered yesterday, before any of the official tours began today. Perhaps it’s the tour guide inside me. It was a lovely stroll, if I might add. I got to see Old University and the ever so famous Phelps Gate, Yale Bookstore (I got Yale chapstick! What a buy!) and various Yale buildings and a couple of galleries. So earlier today, when our group set foot to tour the place, I was able to enjoy it a lot more since there was no need to take anymore photos. A lot of people asked me if I lived here since I was already familiar with the place, and I just smile politely, tell them that perhaps I’m just a little bit more curious than others and point them to their destination. There is just so much to inhale about New Haven and Yale, and staying in one area does not seem to be enough. Although, safety comes first so none of the wandering around happens at night or in nonpopulated areas. And if someone does run into trouble, they have blue lights similar to our very own blue angels stationed everywhere. No worries. I may be adventurous, but I do not like to put myself in questionable situations.

“The Gym’s a Castle!”
The Payne Whitney Gym is very much like a castle indeed, medieval looking and just big in every aspect. We were told that it has the largest body of suspended water since their Olympic-Sized Pool is on the third floor and not the ground. Oh Yalies, that sounds too risky! The real treat came from seeing the original Yale Bulldog Mascot, which is a stuffed dog. I cannot for the life of me remember the name but I will report back with that information tomorrow. I took a picture as proof. The gym itself is a bit of a walk but if your goal is to work out, then you might as well get a head start by walking the extra 20 minutes! Speaking of twenty minutes, I need to get some rest, but I promise to deliver more tomorrow. Good night.

-Astrud Out-

June 16, 2007

TX-WI-NY-CT
Wow. That looks like some cheat code for a video game or something, doesn’t it? Well, not exactly. Those happen to be the four states that I‘ve been in (physically and not just a sense of belonging or perhaps some higher calling…although some might argue that those are acceptable too) the past 9 hours. It seems intense, but really not that bad. My flights were beyond great because the crew baked fresh batches of cookies in both trips and fed us. Oh, and the seats were business class, also known as ridiculously comfortable ones. It put me in such a good mood that I simply laughed at the traffic jam in New York as I took the Connecticut Limo to New Haven. Granted, I have experienced being in a vehicle for 19 hours (SMU Alternative Spring Break to Tuba City!) so the 30 minutes of traffic was a breeze. Besides, it gave me time to settle down, observe and think. I have been on super fast-paced mode for the past couple of hours so the bumper to bumper at the Long Island Expressway (LIE as people here call it) permitted me to catch my breath and be grateful for the upcoming 6 weeks. I feel like I’m the only person in the world who likes New York traffic. Each to his own, right?

Check-In - Check-Out,
There’s nothing like a comfortable bed after a long day of traveling. Thanks to the gracious friends I met before even going here, I was offered not just a bed of my own last night but my own floor. That mattress worked wonders. Saturday morning came oh so quickly though and before I knew it, we were already packed in the car, headed to Target to get water, laundry detergent and other supplies. The offer of grabbing something from a bakery came about as we were driving, and who was I to refuse? I got myself a Choc-O-Nut bagel and Iced Green Tea for only $3.09. What a great way to start the morning! Target was a breeze with the short lines and smiling employees. When we finished that episode, it was off to Harkness Dormitory, my home away from home for the next six weeks.

If I could describe Harkness Dormitory in two words it would be - swipe cards. A person has to first swipe to get into the building, swipe again to get into the elevator hall and swipe a third time once inside the elevator. Oh, and one swipe inside the said elevator is equivalent to one floor. If someone makes a mistake in the floor choice, he/she needs to swipe once more. It takes a lot of getting used to, but I can definitely see its value. Making dormitories and elevators only accessible through swipe cards is a form of necessary precaution. At the end of the day, I would rather swipe to death than to find myself in a dangerous situation. Honestly though, if I were to put all of Harkness’ attributes into one word it would be - superb. The rooms are very clean and I am enjoying the view from my window. The built in sink is probably my favorite aspect of the room since I don’t have to walk out to brush my teeth in the morning. Hey, everyone gets lazy sometimes!

Y’all to Yale
What’s a noticeable difference between Dallas and New Haven? The weather. After dinner last night, I had to put on a jacket before walking around to check out the rest of the campus. But I was told that the mornings aren’t very different from Texan mornings. I guess I will find out tomorrow. Walking around the Yale campus is very different from that of SMU, simply because it’s a much larger campus. The people from here call it a community within a community because of the different walks of life that can be found on campus at one point or another during the day. The Medical Campus and the Yale-New Haven Hospital are located on one end of campus while the Divinity School is found on the other end of this enormous University. There are a couple of Texans I have met already and many others from different states. The rest of the group arrives tomorrow though, and I cannot wait to meet all of them! Till tomorrow.

-Astrud Out-

June 11, 2007

It's Official. 5 Days and Counting
Ok. So I’m less than a week from boarding that plane headed to La Guardia. My original plan was to simply get a ticket to New Haven, but I exchanged that for a cheaper ticket to New York. From there, I’m taking the Connecticut Limo to New Haven. Yup. It’s going to be quite a trip indeed. Long, yes, but it doesn’t really matter at this point. I’m that type of person who likes stopovers because I get a chance to collect magnets from the airports! Haha. Childish maybe, but it keeps me from starting to pull my hair every time my flight gets delayed or my baggage gets lost. Anyway, I am definitely just psyched to spend my summer doing something that I love and wish to pursue in the future. What could possibly be better than that? Okay, there’s the prospect of escaping the Texas heat for a little bit as well that makes Connecticut look so much more attractive as the days go by.

Mission:Fashion
No. There will be no fashion shows for me. Shopping sprees are out of the picture as well. But, there’s that one thing that I am not looking forward to doing: PACKING. I have always taken forever to pack. Case in point, I already started packing yesterday. For some reason, I just want to make sure that I have a variety of clothes because once I am there, what I have is what I have. The debate of the hour is what sweater to bring because apparently the classrooms are going to be similar to igloos. I am determined to come prepared, which is why I am spending an ample amount of time deciding what to put in my red suitcase. After all, airplanes require luggage to be of a certain amount! Hmmm….now where can I get those electronic weighing scales to make sure that my bag’s weight is accurate?

Meet, Greets, Do
Last week and this week, my game plan is to get stuff (I can be very descriptive at times, right?) done. In the context of the sentence, stuff means meeting old friends as well as new ones before I leave. It means, getting work done on applications that are due at the start of the semester (Trust me when I say get your applications in early! This is one of the main reasons that I got into this program! So here‘s a plug for everyone who is applying to anything and everything: Get things in early. It shows dedication, great time management and passion for the specific program you are applying to). Then, there’s the process of contacting people that I know in the area and asking just feedback and information from them. It’s always good to get some information about a place you’re going to travel to, simply because of the familiarity factor. Plus, it’s nice to know that there’s someone there who you can call in case of an emergency or something like that. I feel like I should write a traveler’s guide for students or something like that. Hmm…maybe one of these days. Okay, I’m back to packing and watching Food Network. Later!

May 17, 2007

Staying In Action
I felt like a character in the Real World as we held hands one last time Thursday morning, Day Six. Who knew that I would get so attached to people I have never even seen in my life! It was tough for me and I felt tears streaming down my face as I surveyed the room, looking at people’s eyes and thanking them in my own way. I am forever changed by this experience. It has exposed my weaknesses and reminded me of my strengths. It has brought me some confusion which is always good because then there can be change. And with change comes growth as others say and I certainly hope that a couple of positive ones come my way for I will never forget what I learned in those awesome six days.

May 16, 2007

Living And Leading With Integrity
It’s THE Day. Day Five. The whole theme of the Institute focused on Integrity, which is consistently doing the right thing even when no one’s looking. Defining the word was harder than it seems. We were given time to consult other people and listen to how they would define it. Moreover, we were read situations from turning our best friend in if we found that he/she cheated to driving 70 mph on a 65 mph highway and given the chance to pick whether we strongly agree, agree, disagree or strongly disagree. That’s the picture that has stuck to my head even now and I think that’s what integrity is. It’s not having exceptions for certain situations and people. It’s constantly doing what needs to be done, and perhaps it’s the word constantly that makes this hard.

What Is In You?
Fairness? Wisdom? Justice? These were a couple of the core values that came up as we thought about what we hold true to our hearts. It’s funny though cause I think mostly everyone could have picked ten different nouns that accurately described their core values, but we had to stick to three. Man, that was difficult because it meant eliminating something like respect or loyalty in place of optimism or consistency. It seems unfair to rule out other great options. But then when you think about it, it’s impossible to have all the words be our core values. In the end, everyone picked their top three or four and we even wrote them on pieces of colored paper that had cut-outs of a T-shirt on them. They hung it in what replicated a clothesline as we looked at what others held dearest to their hearts the most. For me, it was comforting to know that if ever I faltered in one of my areas or if I needed help in another, there was always someone I can turn to.

Revue Time!
It was the last night and we were not going to leave every punch line and joke unturned. Groups presented skits about one of the seven words that defined leadership, and I have to say that every single group did great! Creativity was certainly in the house. From word play to amazing use of resources, you name it and it was there that night. Who said that not much can be absorbed in a span of five days. I beg to differ. It was an awesome night of laughter and it gave us a chance to make fun of our wonderful facilitators, instructors, advisors and on-site leaders. I’m pretty sure it was all caught on tape and I know that one of my tasks this summer is to get hold of that recording to reminisce on all the good times that we had. Oh, and there was a dance that night as well! Watch out as the LeaderShape Shuffle gets popular!

May 15, 2007

Bringing Your Vision To Reality
That’s the hard part of it all, isn’t it? Actually putting your words into action. I mean, everyone has some crazy, ingenious, it-will-never-work plan that is put onto paper but never touched after that. I mean, save the exception of J.K. Rowling and how Harry Potter came to life. But still, I am quite happy that Day Four gave us that reality check.

It all started with a simple diagram wherein we had to list down names of people that we can approach to help make our realities possible. There’s your Stakeholders which as the name suggests are in some way affected by the visions. Then, here are teams of course and partners. And they even had a nice slice out of Malcolm Gladwell’s book The Tipping Point, naming Connectors (people who spread ideas through word of mouth) and Mavens (information gatherers and specialists).

More than anything, the exercise made me think of all the resources available to me that I don’t even take advantage of and I’m sure a lot of people in the group felt the same way as I did.

Earthquake . . .
That’s the name of the activity that morning. Earthquake. It sounds quite simple though, the directions I mean. Number the given choices from 1-12, with 1 being the most urgent thing that you would do after the earthquake. It looked simple to me and I picked the most obvious choices and then came the hard part - deliberation with your family cluster. Talk about talk. People had different opinions, experiences, viewpoints and I think we did a great job in respecting each and everybody’s opinion and we ultimately came up with our rankings. It took awhile of course. And comparing our individual rankings, group ranking and the expert ranking, it appears that most of us would have died had we been in the accident alone and followed our own gut instincts. But, as a group, our chance of survival were much better. Next time I feel the ground shaking, I’m calling one of them.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!
So what’s the difference between this and a vision? Goals, both measurable and stretch, are the steps that one takes to get to the vision or the over-arching picture. In the afternoon, we wrote down the steps that we had to take, our goals, the minute we leave Bridgeport. Believe me, it’s easier said than done because it feels like there’s about 2 million steps that I could have written on paper that day and am I glad that I did not write all of them cause I would not have gotten any sleep that night. But still, the exercise was definitely enlightening because it just broke down a seemingly impossible task to a plausible one.

Stars Are Not Pretty Everytime
StarPower is the name of the game and it was very realistic. The idea was to elevate your status by trading chips with each other. The different colored chips corresponded with different values, say 1 gold chip was worth 8 points, while 1 blue chip was only worth 2. The more chips of the same color, the bigger the value. At the end of the rounds, scores were tallied and groups were divided into three sections, the circles, triangles and squares, going from lowest to highest points respectively. After two rounds, the squares were allowed to make rules that could shift how the game was played. Talk about stressful. To know that your trading rights and the whole game rested on the hands of a couple of people is realistic yes, but never comforting. To make the long story short, at the debriefing session, circles and triangles had a lot to say to the squares. But at the end of the day, I feel that all of us in the group could have been squares. Being a triangle, I must admit I was a little upset, but then I think of what I would’ve done had I been a square. It’s easy to speculate what I think I would do now, but it’s different once you’re given that amount of power. If anything, the stimulation gave us a dose of reality, that even in highly respected people and a group of leaders, power is still “Oh so tempting”!

May 14, 2007

Challenging What Is, Looking To What Could Be
Day Three’s theme was "Challenging What Is, Looking to What Could Be." It sounds a bit too long, almost as if you can just separate the two clauses and it would make it better. But that’s not necessarily how it works because before you can go forward, you really need to challenge an ideal, goal or something. Change is a normal part of life and it’s always brought about by someone challenging the norm. Think about how life would be if no one spoke up or stood up for anything. Yeah, that would be a lonely world.

He Had A Dream, What's Your Dream?
Day Three provided us with the opportunity to hear Dr. Martin Luther King’s famous and moving speech. He had a dream and that day, he let everyone know. It was quite a dream alright and it challenged generations of belief, but that did not stop Dr. King from dreaming and acting on his dream. It made me proud to look around that room as the video played on, watching different races coexist peacefully. His dream came true and all of us in that room knew that we had a great chance to make our dreams a reality as well.

Videre And Vision
Videre was a simulation game that divided us into three groups. Tennis balls served as Vision Potions and our goal was to get as many of these potions made. For a potion to be considered “made” it has to touch the hands of every single person in the group but it cannot be handed. It sounds complicated now but it gets even more complicated. There were so many things that went wrong. Frustrations, the introduction of bigger balls other sports equipment, the sudden inability of one member to have both hands, power outages and strikes (Thank the cluster leaders for these parts! Haha.).

I feel like we could have done better, but frankly it was a great simulation. It showed us that even though we could have written our vision already and that we are 100% sure that this is what we want to do, there is simply no guarantee that everything will go smoothly. Small events like a group member being inactive can greatly affect how our visions and our goals turn out. My vision, equal healthcare in the United States, is quite big and a lot of people in my group had big visions as well. Some were more specific with what they wanted. Everyone had different visions but from what day three showed us, anything is possible with the help of others.

May 13, 2007

The Value Of One, The Power Of All
Day Two’s theme was "The Value of One, The Power of All." Easier said than done and the team building activities in the morning clearly showcased that. Not to say that our groups failed every single task that we had to do like the spider web challenge or moving the bucket of “radioactive waste” a.k.a. golf balls, because we did really well on a couple of them but as usual there were power struggles.

That was perhaps my highlight for the day, learning to be a balanced person and knowing when to take initiative or when to give others a chance. As the morning went on, our team figured out how to work best and what techniques worked for us so the remaining challenges, although still challenging, became much easier.

I clearly remember that one activity which involved two partners, one blindfolded and the other on sweating bullets. The blindfolded person’s goal was to put his/her hand over the mousetrap quick enough to not set off the trap. His/her partner’s job was to guide their hand and to give them clear directions as to the location of the trap. It was crazy and I was very nervous as I’m sure other people were, but by then, I think that we all had learned to trust each other already and the fact that no one was hurt is proof.

Not Your Average Disc
Lunch followed and it was as scrumptious as ever. I personally think all the meals served during the camp were delicious and there was always a variety which I’m sure people appreciated. After lunch, we were introduced to the DISC (Dominant, Influential, Steadiness, Conscientious) test which identified our leadership styles.

This exercise was very different than other tests, at least for me, because it pinpointed exactly what type of leader I am. Not only that, they also gave us a sheet describing how we work with other people of different letters. This activity is what differentiates LeaderShape from other leadership workshops I’ve been in. They focus first on the leaders getting to know themselves before they start to lead other people, which really just makes sense to me.

The day ended with a conversation about inclusive leadership and why it was important for us to recognize and celebrate our differences because these differences make us unique. Day Two made me open up a bit more to others and I’m glad others were able to open up to me as well.

May 12, 2007

Building Community
Day One. Perplexing and Adjustment. Those are my adjectives that perfectly describe today. Perplexing in the sense that it is bewildering how close people can become or get by opening themselves up to others. Adjustment because every first day in an unfamiliar place with strangers always requires adjustment on both sides.

Texas Hold 'Em And Our Version of Facebook
The day started out great with perfect weather and a lively bunch ready for the two hour drive to Bridgeport, TX. Honestly, I have no idea how the two hours flew by so fast but it did. We unloaded, looked for our names on the windows of the cabin and proceeded to pick between the top and bottom bunks. Everyone seemed pretty amicable and happy, all excited for the afternoon. It was 1:30 pm then and we were told that we won’t even start until 4:00 pm. And that’s when creativity hit!

We played poker and used snacks as chips, and mind you, there was actually a group who was watching us! It was an amazing beginning to the next six days. Oh, and most of us had Facebook Withdrawals. No fear though since we had our own LeaderShape Postal Office where we could drop little notes to each other as the week progressed.

Stretch Yourself
Day One’s focus was on Building Community. We were broken up into different cluster groups and were told that they would be our family for the next couple of days. And talk about not being able to choose your family! I’m sure that most of us would have wanted a say as to who we would spend a couple of hours with everyday but that was not the point of the day. They pushed us to stretch ourselves a little bit more everyday and it started with meeting strangers and calling them family.

I know it sounds a bit crazy, but after six days, they really are family. Other festivities happened that night like groups presentations; wherein we had to present our logo, name and a little jingle or skit about our group identity and of course sand volleyball in the dark. Yes. You heard me right. Sand volleyball in the dark. Try it out some time because it really is a lot of fun. One minute you swear you know exactly where the ball is headed so you go to where you think it will land and it just is not there. Still, lots of fun!

What Is Leadership?
As the day came to a close, we were given a definition of leadership that focuses on seven different words – possibility, vision, relationships, action, integrity, community and positive change. But more than that, I think we had our own definitions as well based on how we acted through out the day.

For me, leadership is taking the initiative that will bring harmony and push people to their limits. Whether this initiative is actually stepping up to lead or stepping down to give others a chance varies from situation to situation. I also learned to really listen that day and not simply think of a response to whoever is talking and I’m sure that if you asked any person in that room they would have their own definition and example as well.

Introduction

Currently, I'm a biology major, chemistry and international studies double minor and I have survived my first year of intro classes! Yes!

Besides classes, I currently serve as the Emerging Leaders Chair for next fall and I also give youth tours to elementary and middle school students on Fridays. I am excited that the academic school year is already over but then again I am psyched that Leadershape is this coming! I want to absorb knowledge from the workshops, facilitators and even my peers! Of course, fun should always be included in learning so I'm looking forward to meeting new people and getting to know them. Leadershape is such a great opportunity for anyone because I feel that leadership, although it may be innate to a lot of people, is improved through practice.

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