This weeks Leader Bear has only been a bear for 8 months, but has filled her time with participation in many organizations and areas.
Caitlin Schaefer is currently studying Administrative Management and about to cap off her freshman year at Missouri State next week. Her top five strengths are positivity, includer, communication, WOO, and futuristic. She holds a position in our Centennial Leaders program where she contributes much insight to discussion from all of her experiences that are listed below.
Caitlin serves as the Executive Vice President of Alpha Delta Pi where she gets to serve a sisterhood of 240 women and work as a channel of communication to the national office. She also serves as the Director of Student Affairs-Programming and Services for SGA. With this position she holds, she gets to work very closely with nine other departments to ensure that their voices are heard as well as oversee the progress and completion of the new Taylor Health and Wellness facility. Along with these roles, she is an active member on eight different committees as well as a member of a business organization called Phi Beta Lambda. She continues to stay connected to Missouri State by working in the Office of Student Affairs as a Student Assistant and will serve as a SOAR Leader this summer!
Caitlin has recently passed a question on the spring ballot that has created a $100,000 fund that will be used solely on proposals submitted by students. Lastly, Caitlin was just named FSL’s Outstanding Sorority Woman of the Year!
When asked what about Centennial Leaders has impacted Caitlin the most, her response included….
“What impacted me the most from the Centennial Leaders Program was the amount of support I received from the other participants, our facilitators, and our advisors. They were my first friends on campus, stood by my side as I was learning about myself, and pushed me to pursue further with involvement opportunities on campus. Beyond the people, the program alone impacted me by teaching me what it takes to be a successful leader. It gave me the opportunity to learn more about my leadership style, my strengths, and myself in one semester than I had learned in my entire life. I was able to gain a better understanding of how I communicate with others, the importance of upholding responsibility, and necessary traits of successful leaders. With that being said, the program impacted me in indescribable ways. It ultimately gave me the confidence to tackle college, and because of that, I am where I am today.”
When asked what advice she would give to incoming freshmen, her response included…
“My personal motto is ‘With every stress comes the opportunity for success.’ Don’t be afraid to accept new opportunities disguised as challenges because with every difficult situation comes the chance to learn a valuable lesson, apply it to yourself, and grow as a person.
Oh, and wake up every day like it’s your birthday and you’ll never have a bad day!”
Caitlin is a joy to be around and truly practices servant leadership with all that she immerses herself in. She continues to grow as a leader with all that she does and we can not wait to see where she goes with the rest of her three years on campus! Way to go, Caitlin!!!