Blog 23: Final Lesson Reflection

1. Positive Statement

What are you most proud of in your block presentation and/or your senior project? Why?

I’m most proud of my senior presentation as a whole. I feel that I did my best work during this presentation. While I was in front of the class, I calmly and eloquently presented on my content. I constantly referred back to my array of sources, and gave personal experiences in the relevant areas. My activity was engaging and proved to be an enjoyable experience for the viewers, and those who followed their leader roles successfully taught my best answer to their groups.

2. Questions to Consider

a. What assessment would you give yourself on your block presentation (self-assessment)?

AE    P       AP    CR    NC

b. What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project (self-assessment)?

AE    P       AP    CR    NC

3. What worked for you in your senior project?

My mentorship worked extremely well for me, which was the yearbook elective. This allowed for me to apply all the lessons I learned in research to a real-world environment, which provided me with a treasure trove of supporting evidence for my essential question answers. The convenience was great because I was able to kill two birds with one stone. It also allowed for me because I tend to stress out easy, and the fact that I always had time set aside for mentorship really helped me keep calm and keep sane during times of high stress (yearbook deadlines, projects, essays).

4. (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your senior project if you could go back in time?

I definitely would’ve wanted to have tried to get yearbook approved for my mentorship earlier on, or at least figured out another way to get my mentorship hours. I thought I was confined to figuring something out with my previous mentor (Rebecca Chai, yearbook advisor for Walnut High School). I also would’ve started working on my second independent component much sooner, because we only had three months for magazine issues. This was more of a lack of foresight on my part. I hadn’t anticipated how hard it would be run a magazine on top of all the projects and extracurriculars the juniors and seniors had in second semester.

5. Finding Value

How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors? Be specific and use examples.

While I don’t plan on pursuing a career in journalism, I’ve learned my limits when it comes to leadership. This was a test of my prowess, the culmination of all the group skills that I’ve learned in my years at I-Poly. Managing the yearbook staff has been the largest undertaking of my life, and I’ve enjoyed every single moment of it. I’ve seen how I handle conflicts among staff members , or group members. There were a few instances in which staffers were unsatisfied with their teammates (I won’t name names), so I had to figure out a solution that would: A, solve the original issue, and B, not hurt anyone’s feelings.

Blog 22: Mentorship

Literal

My mentorship hours have been updated and properly detailed, and can be found on the sidebar of my blog or by visiting the following link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14sU5AIA8UI23SbV8Ku4E95j5MSeMrKp00dYnnbcYhmg/edit?usp=drive_web#gid=0http://

My mentor was Shawn Strand, and he works at I-Poly High School.

Interpretive

While I don’t necessarily plan on pursuing a career in the field of journalism, the most important thing I gained from my senior project was an opportunity to gauge my leadership skills. I had never before been in charge of such a large group of people, and for such a major task, so it was interesting to learn how I would handle certain situations. This was truly a lesson in delegation, and learning to let things go. While I had my direct contributions to the yearbook (as far as design and photos), I couldn’t be “in the trenches” the entire time. I had to learn when to hand off tasks to other staff members, and to trust that they’ll be able to succeed without micromanagement. When the year began, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to keep this up, because I have a tendency to just go in and do the work myself in project groups. However, I didn’t always have the time or the means of doing so, which helped me learn to let go. Not all work will be perfect. Not all content will be in on time. A good leader is aware of these facts, and works with them. In looking back, I feel confident in my performance.

Applied

My essential question deals with the best method of leading a staff, while keeping morale high and ensuring that the yearbook is a success. My mentorship mostly supported my first and second answers. I have to lead by example, which is a portion of my second answer. As a leader, I am the emotional rock for my team. If I’m visibly stressed, it’ll demoralize the staff. I let my stress slip through a few times, and it in turn made the staff even more stressed for the deadline, and the class environment became tense each time. As far as organization goes, this year was the most organized the yearbook staff has been in years. We used Google Docs, texting/calling, and eDesign to their fullest extent, allowing everyone to communicate well and be kept in the loop. Both Strand and Mimi have commented on how much more smoothly this year has run because of our organization.

From the start, I saw how implementing a shared vision improved the staff morale. I noticed how much the staffers improved in their work ethic, because they felt a personal dedication to the ideas of the book (since they contributed to its concept). Each staffer had input on decisions we made as far as coverage, and design. This made them more motivated and put out better quality work, which I believe has resulted in an excellent book. However, I won’t definitely know whether or not this book was a success until they’re distributed on the 29th.

Blog 21: Exit Interview

1. EQ: What is the most effective method of managing a yearbook staff, while promoting morale and the success of the book?
1. Answer 1: A successful editor-in-chief establishes a shared vision with his or her staff, using the philosophy of employee engagement.
2. Answer 2: A successful editor-in-chief organizes his or her staff using various media and a hierarchical staff structure.
3. Answer 3: A successful editor-in-chief implements a consistent system of training in journalistic skills.
4. My best answer is Answer 1, Because a shared vision gets people involved in the publication on a psychological level, creating a sense of duty to the publication and an intrinsic desire to make the publication perfect, therefore motivating them to put their best effort into their work. It's the perfect combination of staff morale and book success.

2. I arrived at this answer by researching the best methods of increasing staff morale, because I know that morale is vital to the success of any organization. When I came across the concept of “shared vision” in several articles, I knew that it was something many professionals find to be effective. I applied the lessons I learned in articles to the yearbook elective, and my staff has been much more engaged than they have been in three years. They showed more interest in the decision making process for the book, spent more time actually doing work, and in general were more dedicated to the yearbook. As a result, I dare say that we’ve created the best yearbook since my freshman year.

3. Although I technically did have a mentor, whom I used only for interviews, I couldn’t actually get service learning hours at her place of work (she’s the Yearbook advisor for Walnut High School, and they held Yearbook during the regular school day). For the entirety of first semester, I had zero mentorship hours. This was a major source of stress for me, because I had no Idea where I could’ve gotten these hours. I suppose I could have put in extra effort into getting a mentorship with the CalPoly student newspaper, or a local newspaper closer to where I live, but these would’ve been added (and highly unnecessary) sources of stress. After pleading my case to the senior teachers, I managed to make an arrangement for Mr. Strand to become my mentor, and yearbook elective time to be my mentorship. Gaining yearbook class time as my mentorship is probably one of the turning points in me maintaining my sanity.

4. Most Important Sources
1. Kruse, Kevin. "What Is Employee Engagement." Forbes.com. Forbes Media LLC, 22 Sep 2012. Web.
1. This was the article where the concept of employee engagement was first introduced to me. It’s been the foundation  for my first answer, and its importance has held up after dozens and dozens of articles.
2. Branson, Richard. "Richard Branson on Increasing Employee Engagement." entrepreneur.com. Entrepreneur Media Inc., 11 Aug 2014. Web.
1. Richard Branson offered a plethora of useful tips on how to increase employee engagement, but this article didn’t just support my first answer. It provided methods of implementing all three of my answers in a business, and had them intertwined in a way, because you need all three of my answers to truly succeed.
3. Lam, Krystal. Personal Interview. 19 Feb., 2015.
1. I had to throw in this interview with last year’s EIC, because she was such a valuable resource throughout this whole year. Whenever I had a question about yearbook or senior project or anything, she was available to answer them. Much appreciation.