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UTSAV GANDHI

campus@technewsiit.com

TechNews | Tuesday, September 11, 2012

2nd Annual Student Leadership Summit provides
students with confidence, real-world advice

By Katie Peters
LAYOUT EDITOR

“It’s a misconception that you need to be
super involved before you can be considered a
leader. No one can validate you as a leader but
you.” These are the first few words I heard from
Maria Pascucci, founder of Campus Calm, the
keynote speaker at this week’s Second Annual
Student Leadership Summit on Saturday. These
words are appropriate especially for this event,
because students tend to think that only leaders
of student organizations can attend, which is
not the case at all. Alex Garrett, Coordinator in
the Office of Campus Life and the driving force
behind the Leadership Summit, encourages all
students to RSVP for the event. Leadership is
more than just involvement; it is the desire to be
a change in the world, or even just in the school.
This year’s Leadership Summit will feature
workshops such as Representing Leadership on
Your Resume and in Interviews, From Disney to
Dunder Mifflin: Leadership Lessons from Pop
Culture, and Ditch Your Inner Perfectionist and
Lead. Pascucci will be the featured speaker at the
event, and I was given the chance to interview
her in advance. She has years of experience
working with college students, and gave the
following advice on balance and making a
difference:

Katie Peters: Do you believe that you need
to be super involved before you can be considered
a leader?

Maria Pascucci: It’s a misconception that
you need to be super involved before you can
be considered a leader. No one can validate you
as a leader but you. If you lead by example to
affect positive change in yourself and others,
then you are a leader.

It is a practice in personal leadership
development to recognize that you’re human
and begin to take steps to prioritize, knowing
that you will serve better when you’re not
overextended. I advise students to show
yourself some kindness by saying “no” more to
life’s responsibilities that you feel you “should”
partake in to free up some time to give more
fully of yourself to the people and projects you
really believe in. Your leadership integrity will
grow because you’re able to keep your promises
by serving others at your full capacity.

If you’d like to build your leadership

 

 

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platform on campus, consider the following
small steps to build confidence:

- Commit to speaking up more in your
favorite class. Take a chance on your voice!

- Consider writing an article for your
campus newspaper.

- If you aren’t involved in campus, what is
one organization that sounds exciting to you
that you could join?

- If you are already involved in a campus

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Image courtesy 0fwww.campuscalm.com

organization, what is one thing you can do to
help out more?

- If there’s an issue on campus that you feel
needs to be addressed but no one is taking steps
to address it, can you lead the way?

KP: What piece of advice do you wish you
had in college?

MP: If you view your college experience
as a way to build your unique skills and find

out what makes you feel a sense of purpose in
life, and not just as a way to build your success
portfolio, a grade becomes exactly what it’s
supposed to be: a measure of your knowledge
in a particular subject —not a way to gauge your
self—worth.

KP: What would you consider your most
vital message for college students?

MP: You are more than the measure of
your GPA or GRE scores, amount in your bank
account, title on your business card, or the size
of your jeans. You are enough. Try your best in
college and be proud of every accomplishment
along the way.

KP: What inspired your passion to speak to
young leaders?

MP: Did you know that stress, sleep
difficulties and anxiety are the top life issues
that American college students say affects their
studies?

I should know! Eleven years ago, I
graduated summa cum laude from Canisius
College in Buffalo, NY with a 3.92 GPA — the
first woman in my family to earn a degree.
I completed a double major in English and
history, a writing minor, a concentration in
women’s studies while working two part—time
jobs on the side. My resume was perfect but I
was a wreck. I graduated with stress and anxiety
induced health problems. I survived.

As a recovering college perfectionist
turned author, speaker, leader, and change—
maker before my 30th birthday, I’m now on
a mission: to spread a dose of “campus calm”
to student leaders nationwide so they won’t
have to suffer needlessly as I did. I want to help
students let go of perfectionism so they can lead
with resilience.

In the past eleven years since I graduated,
I learned that if I wanted to step into greatness
and lead the world toward positive change, I
had to start by learning how to be the leader of
my own life first.

The Student Leadership Summit is on
Saturday in Hermann Hall from 10 am. to
4 pm. and lunch will be provided. If you are
interested in still signing up, the link is open
until Friday at tinyurl.com/leader2012.

 

iitAIAS volunteers in
Edgar Martinez project

By Ryan Gann & Tran Nguyen
TECHNEWS WRITERS

One step at a time...

Edgar Martinez was a teacher working
in the Chicago area. After being truthful and
reporting a student for dealing drugs, he was
targeted by the student and shot several times.
Not only was he paralyzed and confined to a
wheelchair, but he was left to function in a world
not designed for those with disabilities. Even
though I barely knew anything about Edgar,
there was one thing I was sure of, he needed
help and I wanted to be there to help him. This
was my motivation.

The Edgar Martinez project was the first
volunteer opportunity for our Freedom by
Design chapter. Freedom by Design is the AIAS
community service program utilizing the talents
of architecture students to radically impact the
lives of people in their community through
modest design and construction solutions.

Build Day: Bring on the Labor!

Early Sunday morning on July 15th,
thirteen volunteers (from SAIC, UIC, and HT)
eagerly got on the bus headed down Wabash
and onto the Dan Ryan Expressway bound for
Indiana. The daywas goingto be sunny and hot,
in the upper nineties, but we were well prepared
with a cooler full of refreshments. When we
arrived at Edgar’s, house I was surprised to see

that some contractors and construction workers
were busily working on fixing the side of his
house. We quickly began work on his ramp, first
removing the lattice panels that wrap around
on the bottom, then a long session of sanding
every wood panel, railings, and benches, then
finished up by sweeping away the dust. After
that we applied the first coat of sealant, a shade
of medium gray.

Thank you... for the hundredth time...

At the end of the day, we were all covered
in sweat, wood dust, huge blotches of paint,
and some of us even in dirt. When we were
packing up and making sure that we weren’t
leaving a huge mess behind, I saw Edgar slowly
approaching us. His face wore a huge smile that
was clearly shown in his eyes, as if he was the
happiest guy in the world and it didn’t matter
that he was in a wheelchair. He didn’t want
sympathy, what was done was done, and there
was no turning back time. He shook my hands
a few times and kept thanking us. It was at that
moment that I told him, “Thank you for giving
us this opportunity,” but what I really wanted
to say was “Thank you for letting us be a small
part of your life, for showing us what bravery
really means. Thank you for being a teacher and
standing up when others wouldn’t, for being a
voice to those who really need it. Thank you for
your honest smile, because it was all worth it.”

 

Engineering Themes promotes
sustainability in curriculum

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By Nicole Glick
TECHNEWS WRITER

The Armour College of Engineering is
making vast steps towards educating students
about sustainability—related topics both in and
out of the classroom. Inside the classroom,
there is a multidisciplinary specialization for
undergraduate and graduate students, E3,
which stands for Energy, Environment, and
Economics. Students can choose from a variety
of courses which all focus on a different aspect of
the ever changing needs of the energy industry.
Outside of the classroom, they have developed
this innovative undergraduate initiative to be
comprised of four main themes: Water, Health,
Energy, and Security, which will emphasize
the necessity of being involved outside of the
classroom.

With the pressure for young adults to
be ready for the real world as soon as possible,
the IIT Engineering Themes will present
students with an online portfolio. This portfolio

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is a way for students to interactively track which
“Themed” events they have participated in with
notes and photos; therefore, when potential
employers inquire as to their experience,
students can offer this portfolio as evidence
of their familiarity. This initiative is all about
empowering students to take control of their
futures. The Armour College of Engineering
wants to ensure that their graduates are not
only citizens, but also world citizens who are
a driving force in sustainability due to their
comprehensive preparation in academics and
real world experience.

For further information regarding
what is happening at the Armour College of
Engineering, please visit the website (www.
iit.edu/engineering) or contact the office
(engineering@iit.edu, 312—567—3009)

For further information regarding this
article, please contact Nicole Glick at the Office
of Campus Energy and Sustainability (nglick@
hawk.iit.edu).

Image courtesy ofEngI'neering Themes