And why were they looking at her like she had all the answers and that they would listen? She only knew that she was there to check a box. To be seen as a “step in the right direction” and never give direction. “I feel as though we’ve- I’ve talked about this before.” Stanton shifted in his chair and shared a look with Lillian, who pursed her lips before taking a sip of her coffee. Was her tone too aggressive? Did she come off a little too harsh? Maybe she should try a more palatable approach. She cleared her throat and tried again. She smiled. “The problem is-” she couldn’t finish a sentence before being interrupted by her boss, the man who invited her to give this training in the first place. “Not a problem. That’s not what this is about, Ms.-” “Dr.-” “Areas for improvement.” The rest of the table hummed in approval. “Right.” No, she was not in agreement. How could she spin this and salvage all the eggshells? “I’ve talked about areas for improvement before.” “That was then and this is now, Ms. Thomas. Let’s stay in the present and talk about progress.” Her eye twitched, and the vein in the center of her forehead pulsed. “I agree, Tom.” Stanton pitched like he was engaged before. “I think it’s important for us to dissect the root of this conflict and examine what progress looks like.” He turned to Dr. Thomas and beamed a condensing smile. “What does progress look like?” Yet another diversity and inclusion training that will yield limited results. These trainings surged post-summer 2020 when the Black Lives Matter movement trended on all platforms. Here, supervisors would invite one of their black colleagues (maybe two) to provide insightful methods for achieving a more inclusive, accepting, and progressive work environment. Usually, the recipients of this advice would smile and nod, occasionally admit to their oblivion, but move on with little reflection or intention to improve. Consequently, why my mother, Dr. Thomas, dreaded these meetings. The problem was that minorities' ideas towards progress were rarely valued, as people trailblazed over them to fix everything as soon as possible. Excitement outmatched the commitment necessary to achieve progress. This common flaw prohibits the effectiveness of community engagement. Diversity is often mistaken for inclusion. Mere token gestures of inviting minorities to the table are not enough, as diversity without inclusion is counterproductive. Inclusion exceeds the simple recognition of deficiencies and areas of improvement for marginalized groups. Inclusion signifies respecting and offering space and opportunity for minorities to share their perspectives and ideas with the group. Furthermore, it takes the capacity to value and implement their words when needed. Ultimately, there is no progress in depriving marginalized groups of air to communicate opinions or grievances. Inclusion requires actively listening to minorities with the intent of understanding, which demands empathy and consideration. This level of empathy requires people with privilege to take responsibility for accepting individuals with a lower advantage and giving them a sense of belonging. Furthermore, it requires holding others accountable for creating a healthy environment that promotes and strengthens inclusivity. There are no justifications for obscuring and disregarding the voice and power of marginalized groups. They deserve to be heard, valued, considered, and respected. They deserve an equal opportunity at the table and a voice in the conversations.

After my first year of college, I remain unsure of my career path. Nevertheless, my participation in the Bonner Service Scholar program has encouraged me to become an active contributor to my community. This program has broadened my outlook on community service and engagement. To meet the requirements of this program, I enrolled in IDST 250, the introductory course for the social justice minor. This course challenged my perspective on servanthood and how I approached assisting others in my community. Intentionality is a critical theme in Bonners and emphasized in IDST 250. Here, I learned and explored the philosophy of civil rights activist Ella Baker. In addition to teaching what it meant to be civically engaged, her work taught me what it took. Through indulging in her literature, I grasped the significance of radically listening and working with, not for, a community in efforts of service. Radically listening involves more than just hearing and sympathy. This form of listening requires a person to make space for empathy and listen with the intent of understanding without judgment or prejudice. The goal of radically listening is to gather information from the people or community I aim to serve to improve my comprehension of the history of their struggles. Doing this helps better identify areas of assistance. Moreover, radical listening involves identifying and analyzing silence, reluctance, or absence of specific communities or people. It evokes curiosity as to why there is a lack of participation. Ultimately, I aspire to be attentive to silence instead of judging members as inferior or meek. Furthermore, I yearn to acknowledge and accept the people I serve. I must utilize this engaging form of listening before proceeding to action since I can cause more harm than good in its absence. Before joining Bonners, I had this notion that the second I heard about a social issue, I had to act as a social justice warrior without hesitation. However, I now realize that communities often already have existing systems to solve crises or ongoing conflicts. Usually, people are not looking for a hero or a savior to fix their problems. No one is more qualified to act toward promoting progress than the members of a community. I have come to acknowledge developing a course of action for a community is insulting and undermines the problem at hand. Working for or on top of communities is a common offense by privileged communities attempting to aid those they unconsciously deem beneath them. Instead of allowing members of the community they seek to help lead the course of action, they entitle all the responsibility to themselves. In doing this, they insult the communities they engage with by insinuating the people of that community are incapable of promoting progress themselves or haven't worked tirelessly for ages to find improvement. When I finally leap to engage in my community, I will acknowledge the importance of working with communities rather than for them. I will recognize that I am not a savior responsible for radicalizing everything and building something from scratch. Achieving this requires radical listening throughout my actions. When serving anyone, I seek to amplify voices rather than being the loudest person in the room. I value the ways the Bonner Program has encouraged me to implement what I have learned about social justice and community engagement. In summary, I strive to use the intentionality highlighted in this program to be attentive to my community and others.

Leadership requires more than bestowed legitimate power, as it is easier to say you are a leader than to gain the respect of followers. Leadership involves operating from a relational and referent source of power. It is about developing and maintaining a community that can trust in each other and uphold a sense of interdependence. To achieve such ideals, leaders must identify the needs of their followers by listening to and valuing their voices. Such skills entail great degrees of emotional intelligence, humility, and flexibility. Emotional intelligence involves recognizing, reasoning, and applying emotions to tasks to facilitate thinking and deepen relationships. Leaders that operate off logic alone can leave followers feeling isolated, insignificant, and unsupported. It takes emotional intelligence to acknowledge the needs of followers. Taking the time to support followers helps build their confidence and furthers their capabilities in achieving a common goal. Emotional support can take the form of mentoring, providing and receiving constructive feedback, and being a reliable leader in times of uncertainty. To grant this depth of support, leaders must have a sense of humility to resonate and connect with followers. Ethical leaders should employ a socialized source of power by prioritizing the group's needs ahead of their own. This strategy ensures high team morale towards shared goals, in contrast to personalized sources of power driven by the motivation of self-gain. Humility is needed to implement socialized leadership strategies. Leaders must be confident in themselves and the visions they communicate. However, it is equally important that they remain humble in valuing their followers’ morals, values, and ideas. Humility is also essential in avoiding rigidity and stubbornness to change, as it allows leaders to be more flexible and open to new possibilities. Leaders are known for facilitating change, which is constant and inevitable. Unfortunately, change can cause disorder, panic, and even resistance to adapt amongst followers. Leaders are responsible for maintaining cohesiveness in times of distress, which can only be executed if they are flexible to change. I aspire to exemplify these healthy leadership styles in future work and projects. I have witnessed the consequences of toxic leadership through the lens of a follower. Though oppressive leaders resistant to change may initially warrant desired results, the group’s culture and morale are always low and demotivating. In the future, I will remain loyal to the needs and goals of my followers. Furthermore, I will remain adaptable in times of unexpected change and uncertainty by being creative with the given resources and circumstances associated with the context.

Public relations builds positive and affirming images of people, organizations, and institutions by envisioning and conveying their goals, ideals, and accomplishments to the public. The value of public relations has increased due to the rampant speed of various social media and journalism platforms. Therefore, it is impossible to overstress the power and need for diversity in public relations, since it impacts the shaping and views of public narratives. However, diversity alone is not enough to forge improvement. It is vital to include the voices in these spaces to promote the advantages diversity has in any work environment. Including people signifies respecting and giving others the chance to share their perspectives and ideas with the group. Furthermore, it takes the capacity to value and implement their words when needed. Listening and engaging with people of diverse upbringings and experiences enables the framework needed to identify, connect, and communicate with varying audiences. Such diversity must include differentiation in racial, gender, religious, and sexual orientation identities. Diverse public relations teams offer multiple viewpoints that can solve challenges and provide opportunities to be more inclusive, egalitarian, and representative of different groups. It also aids in acknowledging issues that would otherwise be overlooked, such as existing and intersectional stereotypes, prejudices, and biases. Additionally, diverse public relations teams can support different outlooks and narratives. For example, when designing a campaign for young individuals, having young people on the public relations team can ensure the campaign resonates with that particular audience. In parallel, involving members who identify with the LGBTQ+ community on the team can further progress in campaigning for this community with the sensitivity, inclusion, and representation it deserves. A team that manifests multiplicity in the professionals involved helps to establish trust and credibility with different communities. When community members see and feel representation in the public relations teams, they are more likely to trust the depiction and portrayal of the organization. Consequently, relationships are built and enhanced between the organizations and communities. There is significant power in valuing and incorporating diverse voices in public relations, as they can positively influence how a team approaches and engages with its intended audiences. By assembling individuals from spanned backgrounds and experiences, teams can better identify how to enhance their connection with different communities and demonstrate sensitivity and empathy to their values. Diversity and inclusion empower teams to attain genuine representation to exercise effective communication strategies with diverse audiences.

After my first year of college, I remain unsure of my career path. Nevertheless, my participation in the Bonner Service Scholar program has inspired and increased my commitment to being an ongoing active member of my community. This program has broadened my outlook on community service and engagement. To meet the requirements of this program, I enrolled in IDST 250, the introductory course for the social justice minor. This course challenged my perspective on servanthood and how I approached assisting others in my community. Intentionality is a critical theme in Bonners and emphasized in IDST 250. Here, I learned and explored the philosophy of civil rights activist Ella Baker. In addition to teaching what it meant to be civically engaged, her work taught me what it took. Through indulging in her literature, I grasped the significance of radically listening and working with, not for, a community in efforts of service. Radically listening involves more than just hearing and sympathy. This form of listening requires a person to make space for empathy and listen with the intent of understanding without judgment or prejudice. The goal of radically listening is to gather information from the people or community I aim to serve to improve my comprehension of the history of their struggles. Doing this helps better identify areas of assistance. Moreover, radical listening involves identifying and analyzing silence, reluctance, or absence of specific communities or people. It evokes curiosity as to why there is a lack of participation. Ultimately, I aspire to be attentive to silence instead of judging members as inferior or meek. Furthermore, I yearn to acknowledge and accept the people I serve. I must utilize this engaging form of listening before proceeding to action since I can cause more harm than good in its absence. Before joining Bonners, I had this notion that the second I heard about a social issue, I had to act as a social justice warrior without hesitation. However, I now realize that communities often already have existing systems to solve crises or ongoing conflicts. Usually, people are not looking for a hero or a savior to fix their problems. No one is more qualified to act toward promoting progress than the members of a community. I have come to acknowledge developing a course of action for a community is insulting and undermines the problem at hand. Working for or on top of communities is a common offense by privileged communities attempting to aid those they unconsciously deem beneath them. Instead of allowing members of the community they seek to help lead the course of action, they entitle all the responsibility to themselves. In doing this, they insult the communities they engage with by insinuating the people of that community are incapable of promoting progress themselves or haven't worked tirelessly for ages to find improvement. When I finally leap to engage in my community, I will acknowledge the importance of working with communities rather than for them. I will recognize that I am not a savior responsible for radicalizing everything and building something from scratch. Achieving this requires radical listening throughout my actions. When serving anyone, I seek to amplify voices rather than being the loudest person in the room. I value the ways the Bonner Program has encouraged me to implement what I have learned about social justice and community engagement. In summary, I strive to use the intentionality highlighted in this program to be attentive to my community and others.

I wrote and produced this song in my sophomore year of high school. My mother was asking me about college, and when I brushed it off, she reminded me that I was about to be a junior. It was finally time to start considering which schools I wanted to apply to, and at that moment, I started thinking about the future and felt so afraid and unsure of myself. “What do I want to major in?”, “What if I’m not smart enough?”, “What if I’m not talented enough?”. I knew I couldn’t be the only one having these doubts. I knew others had these same thoughts when a new chapter awaited in their lives. So I decided to express my feelings in a song.