For the week of June 3rd-7th.
What went well?
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- With this first week in Belfast, I’ve tried to explore the area and get a feel for the city. During the spring semester, I tried to learn as much as I could about the political environment of Northern Ireland, but that cannot replicate the in-person experience of walking around and talking to people. We visited a number of monuments and museums, each focusing on the Troubles or the past few hundred years of Northern Irish history. All of these helped to place the modern-day experience of political reconciliation and community-building into context.
What could have been done differently?
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- This was a light week of work with our non-profit partner, partially due to our arrival times in Belfast. We did help out with their annual Sir George Quigley Memorial Lecture, which really helped contextualize the Northern Irish economy and the importance of cross-border communication. Coming from the NW United States, the concept of “border” feels very different (either between US states or with Canada), so any context really helped my understanding. I anticipate our balance of exploring/working will shift starting next week.
What did I learn about myself when working with others?
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- This week emphasized the importance of coming in with an open mind and asking questions. I tend to struggle with the latter, but I feel that coming in with an open mind will help invite more questions, especially as we spend more time in Belfast.
What did I learn about leadership?
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- One aspect of leadership that I think gets forgotten is the act of first sitting back to learn and appreciate new places/situations for what they are, and understanding their way of doing things, without constantly comparing their system to the one from home. I’ve learned a lot this week just from stepping back and trying to understand the nuances of where I am, instead of automatically assuming that I know “everything.” From this, I can really learn about all the systems/options/methods out there, further helping me grow.
What do I want to develop / focus on next?
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- Next week, I anticipate getting into the nitty-gritty work of our non-profit organization and putting myself in situations to try and make more connections, building off this week’s Quigley lecture and all my past academic experience/familiarity with Northern Ireland.