This past weekend I went to the Caring for the Caregiver hackfest. It was AWESOME!

I had the opportunity to stay in a nice hotel, meet five awesome students from my school, and work with them to develop a product for caregivers in just 24 hours. Schools from all over the state were there and we competed to design the best product; one that was usable, original, and profitable. Most schools created applications and websites, and my team created a website, application, and concrete product.

While I only got 4.5 hours of sleep over the weekend, I absolutely loved the experience, and I learned SO much along the way.

Here's a few of the most important things I learned:

1. Be your own advocate. I like to assess a situation and the people involved before I speak and participate. While working with five other ambitious, strong-willed, and intelligent students, however, I learned that if I wanted to truly be a part of this I had to jump in and think quickly. I had to speak up and communicate my thoughts clearly and effectively.

Assessing or jumping in may be more or less appropriate depending on particular situations, but it was great to have practice jumping in and taking action on what I wanted to work on. Be hungry, eager, and composed.

2. Delivery is critical and this includes diction and tone. When I spoke with confidence-with belief in what I was saying- and supported my opinion with evidence, my group listened to me more.

This was a rather significant realization for me. Many people have told me that I have a comforting voice--that it is a soothing sound, which might serve me well when I work with a patient in distress; however, I realized a soothing voice was not going to get me anywhere during this project, and it might not in the workforce either. I turned up the volume knob and pressed the "be assertive" and "command with confidence" buttons.
As a woman, it is interesting to find the balance between the nurturing/caring for others part of me and the I am advocating for what I believe in/I am a strong aspect, but we are blessed to have more than one side and it's important to develop an ability to flip sides and/or combine them. Men too--sometimes showing strength and an ability to feel is advantageous.

3. Know your strengths and weaknesses and develop both. I told my group that I like working with details, so one of the tasks I worked on was refining the wording and formatting of our presentations. I also planned where each of us would stand during the presentation too. I must say that we had the best presentation thanks to our practice, organization, and clean, professional appearance. You would be surprised how silly it looks when people do not know where to stand, or who speaks before or after them. (Shout out to my ballet training for helping me have the sense to "choreograph" and discuss these matters with my team beforehand). Accentuate your strengths and be willing to learn more to develop your weaknesses.

4. Value others. Everyone has something to offer, and we all have our strengths. Each person knows something that you do not. It was amazing to see my engineering teammates design a webpage and models of products. I was also impressed by some detailed information that my social work teammates knew even though our professions encompass similar topics. Everyone works better when they feel appreciated, so it can be worthwhile to recognize people for their work.

5. Master the art of reading others. This is very helpful when working with people. It was particularly helpful when I sensed one of my teammates was unhappy. He did not want to express it in front of everyone, so I found a moment to ask what was bothering him and delineate a course of action to help address his concerns. I think part of being a team member and leader is trying to ensure that everyone is on board during the ride. The team is stronger if we move forward together.

5. Knowledge and LIFE is out there for you to take advantage of and LIVE! It's a few days later and I am still thinking about this event. I learned so much about myself, other people, group dynamics, creating a product, some technology and business aspects of such an operation, and more. Most importantly, I feel a duty to learn and take advantage of what life has to offer.
I feel so empowered by stepping outside of my comfort zone.
It was so enriching to meet people who have different strengths and areas of knowledge.
It was inspiring to be one of the forty-two students in the state helping to architect the future.

Instead of scanning social media when I have a free moment, I am going to read my Flipboard app in an effort to broaden my knowledge (Flipboard encompasses news on a variety of topics from a variety of major published sources). I am planning to attend a free event tomorrow and listen to a speaker talk about humanity, society, and transformation. I am volunteering to participate in a professor's clinical simulation. I am not telling you this, so you will think I am great. I am sharing this because:

If I have the opportunity to learn, grow, and give, then I have the obligation to do so.


Could you be a better advocate for yourself, refine the delivery of your ideas, spend more time focusing on people's positive qualities rather than their negative ones, or take action to broaden your horizons? If you can then you should.