My profile

I do believe that I am representing myself well. The main thing I can improve on is not tweeting inside jokes with my friends. Before I post anything I think about how I should say something and what other people might read into after I post it. I know that I need to make sure I am representing myself well since nothing is private.

Professional and Personal Lives

We are not able to separate our professional and personal lives since our personalities and characteristic traits should be consistent within both areas.  Who we are in our personal lives should be the same person we are in our professional and vice versa.  Having consistency is important because that means you are being your true self in all aspects of your life.  If we are one way outside of the office and not the same in it, people will be confused on who we truly are.

I know that it is important for me to support BYU's honor code inside and outside of the office.  Last semester I had some roommates that wanted me to break the honor code and I told them I would not participate.  It was extremely hard because these girls were my "best friends".  By me not participating they saw me as judging them and did not want to be as close of friends anymore.  I saw us drifting apart but I continued to be kind to them and did not judge them at any point.  I know that my life will be blessed for obeying the honor code.

Seek out the one

I will definitely strive to seek out those on the periphery in the clubs area.  A lot of students feel that they don't have a place on campus but I feel that they will be able to find a place in clubs.  I know that by helping the one, they will be able to feel happier and will get involved.

Divine Centered Leadership

I liked that the center of the divine centered leadership model is motive.  The most important question is "What would the Lord have me do?" It is important that myself, and my team members have the same motive.  I hope that we will all strive to be like Christ and make sure that our motive is charity, service, and other students.  If we have a central motive we will all be able to be leaders centered on Christ.

Letter to my future self

Dear Jenny,

Wow has time flown!  I hope that you were able to lead your team to success.  I hope that you were able to share the vision of BYUSA with each executive director and helped them to understand their important role in BYUSA.  In the clubs area we have the special responsibility to help club presidents help accomplish the BYUSA vision to make sure there are no intellectually, spiritually, physically, or emotionally poor  among us.  During the year I hope that as a clubs area we were able to help students find a place to belong.

Most importantly, I hope that the executive directors, program directors, committee members, and clubs know that you love them.  I hope that charity was the focus of the area and that everything revolved around it. Additionally, I hope that the team of executive directors were able to create strong relationships and were able to become good friends.  Also, I hope that the presidency was able to become close and lead together, not separate.

In the clubs area, I hope that advertising has increased, more clubs have been started, Care Week has been perfected, there is a higher attendance at Clubs Night, and that the team is helpful to club presidents.

Leadership Lessons

Vice President Sharman talked a lot about doing the father's will and building up the kingdom.  She said to try and figure out what heavenly father wants you to do to build up the kingdom.  Additionally, she spoke a lot about putting the family first.  I know that by doing this everything will fall into place and my family will be strong.

Final Reflection

Jenny Gordon

Final Reflection

Go Forth To Serve

            This past year has been the most amazing experience.  I am extremely thankful I had the opportunity to serve as an Executive Director in the Clubs area within BYUSA.  I know that the people I worked with and the experiences I had will stay with me throughout my life.  The skills I have learned through this experience will help me go forth to serve in my community, church, employment, and family.  In our class this past semester we had the opportunity to hear from many professionals that helped us understand how to balance the gospel, service, family, and the workplace.  It was extremely beneficial hearing from these speakers. 

            President Sharman came and spoke to us and the most important lesson I learned was to put family first.  I have been praying lately on whether or not I should just focus on a career or if I should also think about a future family.  Well, my answer was given this past General Conference and from Preisdent Sharman’s talk.  I know that I need to put family first and that the most success will come from being a mother.  I want to be successful with a career, but I know that a family is more important.  I hope to become a good mother who is always there for her children.  I want to create strong relationships with my children through family dinners and family vacations. 

            I hope to be a leader in the home by taking care of my children and my husband.  I will do everything possible to help them with school, relationships, friendships, sports, and daily life.  By being a strong, loving leader in the home, my children will be able to know that I love them and want the best for them.

            By putting family first, I know that everything will fall in to place. It is important to trust in the Lord and have faith.  By continuing to live the gospel I know that I will find true happiness.  I want to stay active throughout my life because I know that this is the true church.  My family is not active and I have seen the things that happen when the gospel is not in your life.  The gospel helps balance everything in your life, by putting the Lord first you will find true happiness.  It is important to be a leader in the Church by fulfilling your calling and teaching your children.  I know that I will accept any calling I am given and hope to lead to the best of my abilities. 

            When Dean Cox came and spoke, he emphasized the importance of service.  Service should emulate our lives and we should always be focused on it.  It is through service we are able to display our love for others and for Christ.  One of the best ways to center our lives around Christ is to love as he loves and serve those around us. One of my favorite quotes by C.S. Lewis is “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal”. If you think about everyone one of us are important in the eyes of Christ and we should also see each other that way.

            Sister Silvia H. Allred said, “When we have charity, we are willing to serve and help others when it is inconvenient and with no thought of recognition or reciprocation.  We don’t wait to be assigned to help, because it becomes our very nature.  As we choose to be kind, caring, generous, patient, accepting, forgiving, inclusive, and selfless, we discover we are abounding in charity”.  I truly love this quote because she explains as we are simply kind to one another charity will become second nature.  We should strive to be charitable every day.  We can show charity in the home, the workplace, and at church. 

            Another place to be a leader is in the workplace.  This past semester has taught me to stick to my values and to be a leader at all times.  In BYUSA Clubs we have the unique opportunity to be a leader of leaders.  We help the club presidents with their club; whether that be putting on events, training their team, or simply how to run meetings.  It was such a cool experience to help presidents advertise for their club.  I know that in my future career I will not be surrounded by Latter-day Saints and there will be some ethical dilemmas. 

            It is vital that I stick to my morals and values as a leader in the workplace and do not give in.  I know that the best way to leave is with love.  By simply loving those around me I will be able to become a better leader.  When people know that you love them, they are more willing to listen to you and follow you.  One of my goals is to make sure those that I’m leading know without a doubt that I love them. 

            I have learned so much through my experience as an Executive Director and I know that I will use the skills I learned here throughout my entire life.  I’m excited to serve this next year as a Vice President, and I hope to learn even more.  There is always room for improvement and I hope to someday become an excellent leader.  BYUSA is a unique opportunity to lead since it is a student service association.  All focused on service.  As I serve the club presidents I hope they know I love them and want to help in any way possible.  

Leading in the Family

I know that I want to be a mother someday.  I didn't have a strong relationship with my own mother growing up and that is something that I want to change with my family.  I want to have family dinners to build strong relationships with my children and my husband.  I always want my children to know that I'm there for them and that they can talk to me about anything.  I hope to be a leader in my family by helping my children and always being there for them.  I also want to support my husband with everything that he does.

Accepting Change and Serving

It is important to accept change with an open mind.  Change is a good thing and allows for growth.  I know that throughout my life a lot of technological advances and I will have to accept them with open arms.  Additionally, through change I will be able to learn more about the world, those around me, and myself.

I want to continue serving after BYU in my community.  I know that is important to be involved so I can give back to the community and those around me. I want to be involved in every aspect of my life.

Perception of Humanity and Senselessness of Conflict

Sen. Garn said that the opportunity he had to orbit the Earth gave him a different perception of humanity and senselessness of conflict.  He said that if everyone has the opportunity to orbit the Earth they would want peace and not war.  He said that there would be no feelings of anger towards each other and that everyone would love one another.  I know that if I keep this mentality I will not feel animosity towards others.  It is important to keep an open mind and a loving heart when serving and working with others.

Serving and Giving Back to the Nation

I feel gratitude for the opportunities that I have had to serve because I feel happy when serve those around me. We can serve in our church, school, and our community.  Wherever I am I try and serve in some capacity.  There are many opportunities to serve and we must capitalize on them.

Difficult Conversation

Last semester my program director for Care Week wasn't fulfilling her duties so I had to have the difficult conversation with her.  At first I had to approach her and acknowledge that I wanted to talk with her.  Next, I talked with her about all of the positive things she had accomplished.  I also discussed how she is a great friend and that I appreciate everything she had done.  Next, I brought up the things that I expected from her position and how they had not been met.  I had to ask her if she was willing to step up and meet her responsibilities for next semester or if she wanted to step down from program director.

She acknowledged that she hadn't been meeting her responsibilities and said that she wanted to continue serving as program director for the next semester. I noticed a huge difference in her work ethic and her dedication in the winter semester.  I am so glad that I was able to talk with her so she could recognize what needed to be changed.

Loving Those I Lead

In order to show the love for those that I lead, I have tried my best to simply get to know them.  I feel that the more you get to know someone, the more you love that person.  At meetings I got an update on everyone's lives and made sure we didn't just discuss BYUSA.  Additionally, I had stewardships with my PD's so we could discuss our lives outside of BYUSA.  By having these conversations, I was able to get to know all of the girls I worked with and was able to gain

The clubs area motto this year was "Love in This Club" and we tired to apply that to everything we do.  Whether it was working with committee members, program directors, or club presidents there was a sense of love and charity.

Serving Others

"Focus your work on blessing and serving others rather than getting rich or being noticed,  you'll find great success and become extraordinary at whatever you do." BYUSA has helped me adopt this style as a leader in many ways. In the Clubs in the area our vision includes charity.  We try and love everyone we work with especially the club presidents.  If they know that we care about them, they won't hesitate to come to us for help. By having a heart of service, I know that my team in BYUSA will be more enjoyable. 

Work Will Be Bliss

This myth is busted because there will always be some stress in your life.  Although you may enjoy your job, there will be some things that go wrong or small things that you may not want to do. When this happens, it is important to focus on the good things that you enjoy about your job that balance out the negatives.

2 Different Career Paths

Currently I am majoring in public relations with a business management minor, with this degree I hope to either go into sports PR, corporate PR, or music PR.  I love public relations because you can really go into any field that you want.  Through internships and experiences I hope to gain a grasp of different industries so no matter what I will be able to find a job.  My dream job would be to do PR for the San Francisco Giants.  This would entail managing social media, media relations, community relations, press conferences, and working with the players.  In corporate PR I would be interested in working with investor relations, community relations, and media relations. With a business minor I hope to be able to learn more about business so I will understand the industry.  

If PR doesn't work out I'm also interested in advertising and marketing.  Through my experiences with FFA and BYUSA, I grew an interest for marketing and advertising. In FFA I had to come up with a marketing plan for Blue Diamond Almonds where we presented at the state level.  We moved onto nationals where we places first in the nation. It was definitely a learning experience and I was able to learn a lot about business, communications, and marketing. In BYUSA I have worked a lot with advertising and have been able to learn more about creativity and management. 

Delegation

As Elders Quorum President, President Samuelson eventually delegated the task of mowing the lawn.  This helped the men in his quorum to accept a calling of responsibility and to work together to accomplish the task.  Delegation is extremely important as leaders as we help those that we lead learn to accomplish things on their own and often better. This semester I got a Program Director named Corrine, who is amazing. She has helped start the clubs area facebook page and has made it extremely successful. I would not have been able to accomplish it as fast and as well as Corrine did.
I will keep in mind the importance of delegation in future leadership roles by always making sure I don't have too much on my plate. I will always check with my team members to see what they are working on and if they want more tasks to do.

Standing Alone

In high school, I was the only member out of my group of friends.  It was difficult not being able to hang out with everyone on the weekends and having to tell them "No, I'm sorry I can't do that".  Although this was difficult I am extremely grateful that I never gave in.  I was involved in student leadership throughout my entire high school career; this enabled me to be an example to the other students.
My junior year of high school Prop 8 took place and my dad was over the campaign in our town.  It was very difficult to have my peers asking me why I was standing on the corner supporting Prop 8.  A lot of people questioned my religion and my character. I had to explain to them my view and that I was trying to be hateful towards anybody.
By the time senior year came around, people knew not to invite me to the parties anymore and no one pressured me to just "give in".  I was glad that  people recognized my standards and would not try and change them.

Serve Now

President Samuelson emphasized the importance of serving now and not waiting until we are "less busy".  It is extremely important to serve now because there will never be a time where we are less busy, our lives will constantly be filled with responsibilities.  I will make sure that I include service in my life by continuing to be involved in BYUSA, my church calling, and simply serving my friends and other students around me.  It is really easy to do simple acts of service for my roommates and I need to start doing more of those.  There has been some tension with my roommates and I believe that if I start serving them our relationship will be able to grow even stronger.

Making Change

It is important to constantly be improving ourselves and our programs.  Nothing is ever perfect and we can always strive to be better. I know that I have made a lot of changes this year to my programs but I know that I could have done so much more.  I hope that I will leave a legacy to the next Executive Director that they will want to continue improving Care Week and Advertising.  One way I can do this is to leave a very detailed history and try and improve things while I still have this position.

"Grown Up"

My involvement in BYUSA has definitely helped me grow as a leader and as a person.  By working with adults on a daily basis, I have learned how a real office works.  Additionally, by working the in the Clubs area as an advertising consultant, I have learned how to work with clubs, designers, and volunteers.  I have learned a lot about effective communication and how to coordinate meetings with everyone's schedules.  I am so glad that I am able to work with Sue on a daily basis because I learn so much from her. Her kindness is an example to me and I strive to be more like her. I really appreciate that Sue is always so nice but is able to get things done as well.

13 tips on leadership in your career

1. "Family first, don't give up what's important for wants."  I want my family to always be my top priority.  Growing up I didn't have the opportunity to have a strong central family unit, so when I am married I want to make sure my family is extremely close.  I think it is important to keep family as a top priority, and to not put a career first.  The most important calling in life is to be a mother and I know that I want it to be my top priority.  Although I want to be successful in life, I will find the most success and happiness in being a mother.

2. "Be willing to start at ground level."  When graduating from BYU, I need to realize I won't be president of a company right away, I will have to work my way up.  This is important because I will learn the most valuable lessons at this stage in my life.  I can use these experiences to help in my career.

One thing I learned from Judge Griffith

One of the things that stuck out the most to me in Judge Griffith's presentation was that we all need to find something meaningful in our future career.  If we don't find meaning in what we are doing, we won't be happy and we won't be adding something to our community. Griffith spoke on the importance of aligning our career with the gospel.  If our career is making us question our standards we should discontinue our association with that company.

Judge Griffith said "serving the lord and his children should  be the reason for waking up and going to work". I agree with this statement wholeheartedly.  It is important for us to be benefiting society through our work and contributing to the community we live in. I know that by considering the gospel in all aspects in our life, we will be able to be successful.

Learning from others

Learning from others talks, experiences, and advice is the most effective way to learn.  I love listening to older people speak about their past life experiences and what they learned from them.  I know that by taking the time to listen to others, I can truly gain some knowledge. Just because someone doesn't have the same degree and educational background that you have, does not mean they are not smart.  Everyone has to be educated in different  fields. Someone needs to know how to perform surgery, teach students, and manage companies; not one person can do all of these things. 

Neither of my parents attended a university after high school, so I am a first generation college student.  Although my father did not attend college I have learned the most from him.  I worked for my dad's company my first summer after high school. I worked as an office manager where I learned a lot about the business industry.  My dad has had a lot of personal experiences that he was able to gain knowledge from and share them with me. 

Remembering the least among us

Remembering the "least" among us is extremely important in leadership roles. While serving as a leader, it is important to make everyone feel like they are on the same level.  We should not make others feel inferior while making our selves feel "better than".  In BYUSA I always try and make an effort to make pd's and committee members feel included in the office.  Even though I don't personally work with all of the volunteers in the clubs area, I make sure to establish relationships with them.  Some ways to do this are to have a conversation with them, don't make them feel left out with inside jokes, ask about their lives, and encourage them to continue their involvement in BYUSA.

I hope to continue this mentality as I go on to serve in future leadership roles.  It is important when working with a team to create unity and the best way to do that is to make everyone feel the same level of importance.  I know that in my future career I will strive everyday to not make anyone feel lesser than.