Thunder U was quite an adventure. I had the opportunity to put leadership skills                                                                   I already had to the test and improve on them. It was also a great environment                                                                     to learn new skills that I had yet to develop. With being able to lead and help a                                                                     small group of students I was able to learn the importance of connecting to each                                                                  one on an individual level. How connecting can lead to better trust and helps                                                                       others get more involved, to enjoy themselves more. There were plenty of times                                                                  during this orientation that I could see the students I worked with had no                                                                              interest in participating in the activities and I had to figure out how to help gain                                                                    the desire or help them find something that they would want to do to help them                                                                  feel the connection build with SUU. I grew in my ability to listen to others’ needs                                                                  as to know what I need to do to help them in several different situations.                                                                              Listening is an important part of leadership. If you do not listen, you will find                                                                        very quickly that no will want to listen to you and will only follow you because                                                                      they have to. To be a great leader, you want people to follow you because they                                                                    want to. A great leader is one who can show that they care, willing to lead by                                                                      example and willing to follow when the situation arises. During my experience I was able to develop these skills but also realized that I have a lot to work on if I want to be a great leader and one day own my own business where I will need to decide what kind of leader I will be. Thunder U has been able to open my eyes a little more on what a truly good leader should be and I will look back on this experience for future leadership opportunities.