NINA WILLIAMS
LEADERSHIP COURSEWORK
LEAD 1000
LEAD1000 prepares students to exercise leadership in business, government, and community organizations. Introduces leadership skills useful in a variety of settings including community and civic activities. Helps students to improve self-awareness, understand multiple theories, recognize moral courage, build analytic and critical thinking skills, and adapt leadership practices to different people and contexts.
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This course introduced critical leadership theories to my vocabulary, putting into words processes that I previously could not identify. LEAD4000 encouraged group work and positive classmate interactions through shared goals and projects.
COMM 1300: PUBLIC SPEAKING
COMM1300 develops confidence and competence in writing and delivering presentations. Examines public speaking in a variety of personal, civic, and professional settings.
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This course invited students to expand outside their comfort zones by writing and presenting on personal narratives, contemporary issues, and research projects. Each presenter received constructive criticism on how to improve their public speaking affect.
COMM 3410: INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
COMM3410 explores complex relationships between culture and communication processes from various conceptual perspectives. Considers the important role of context (e.g., social, historical, and cultural) in intercultural interactions.
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This course encouraged huge shifts in cultural, social, and economic perspectives. Students learned useful communication strategies when engaging with differently-minded individuals. Projects included considerations of national and global cultures, languages, and communities.
PSYC 3511: HISTORY OF PSYCHOLOGY
PSYC3511 includes outlines of the development of psychological theories since the Greek philosophers, the story of experimental psychology and its problems, and schools of psychological thinking. Students read original sources in English and English translations.
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This course presented comprehensive examples of leaders within the field of psychology and mindfulness. I felt particularly connected to these visionaries because they paved the way for new ways of seeing the world.
LEAD 4000: CAPSTONE
LEAD4000 integrates leadership topics and experiences students pursued through the Leadership Studies Minor. Using advanced critical thinking skills, the seminar requires students to evidence their knowledge, competencies, and skills related to leadership theory and practice through examining contemporary leadership challenges. Further, the seminar directs students to justify decision-making processes, demonstrating their ability to synthesize prior knowledge to effect desirable, ethical outcomes.
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This course highlights the important intricacies of working with a team to solve a larger, 'wicked' problem. Groups specifically focused on the issue of affordable housing in Boulder, Colorado, tackling pieces of a seemingly unsolvable puzzle in order to create sustainable solutions.
