One situation where I
was able to empower somebody else in a positive way was very recently. Serving
on the executive board for the Indian Student Association (ISA) for the past
two years, one of my committee chair members whom I have had the opportunity to
work with for the past two years came to me with advice. With new executive
board elections coming up right around the corner she asked me about the
responsibilities of being Internal Vice President and about exactly what the
position entailed. After speaking with
her, she was convinced that this was the position for her. Thus, she ran for
elections and was able to be elected into the position of Internal Vice
president for the upcoming school year. However, only this week did I find out
that she not only ran for Internal Vice President for our organization but also
just won an executive position in her sorority, Not only that, but with her
going into her junior year as a pre-medicine major I wanted her to fully
understand what it would require of her to succeed at both positions, and not
ruin her GPA in school. It was so hard to talk to her about this because is one
of those individuals who likes to take things into their own hands and do
everything and anything they possibly can. I met with her several times after
finding our she had gotten both positions to talk to her about the pro’s and
con’s about both position and how it would pay into effect with her academics
next year. Her having to take her MCATS the following year while serving on two
executive boards, and taking 21 credit hours was just not going to be an option
for her. There was no way she would be sane to do all this, and still have time
to serve as a board member in three other pre-health organizations. As a sophomore
she felt that she could handle all this. However, after sitting through many
conversations and taking her to specifically talk to other students who were
taking their MCATS I helped guide her into not sacrificing her school to serve
on so many executive boards. I recommended to her that she should essentially
pick between one or the other for her sanity and for her future success. In
this case, she herself finally realized that giving up either the position with
her sorority or ISA was the right thing to do. Thus, after many conversations,
me creating pro-con lists and mini-presentations, and having her meet with
individuals in her career path, she made the smart choice of dropping out as Internal
Vice President from ISA. She knew that she wouldn’t have been able to give it
her 100% at the end of the day and she realized that there were other people
who would have been able to, even though she is more than qualified for the
position. I am glad that I was able to share my experiences with her, while at
the same time have her understand the realistic views on some of her decisions
for her well being. I think that by stepping up and being that person for her
to talk to, ad giving her guidance allowed her to make the right move. If I hadn’t
done this now, she may have felt the pressures next year while serving on the
board and not been able to do the best job she could and burn herself out. In
the end, talking with her recently I do think that she is very happy with her
decision and she knows that it is only going to make a positive impact come
second semester next year.
That's quite a story. It was perceptive of you to see her in an impossible position when she didn't see it herself. There is something called the "superwoman syndrome" which typically refers to a woman who is a high powered executive and has a family she is responsible for as well. When there are young kids involved with that I think it is impossible - one or the other must be outsourced to some degree. I wonder if woman who try to do it all, say when they are in their lower 30's, were also doing it all when they were in college. I also wonder whether parents encourage that sort of behavior in their adult children. In any event, you added some sanity to the equation, a very good thing.
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