Lead Reflection 2 from Emily Shaver on Vimeo.

Leadership has always played a huge role in my life. Even when I was a young girl, I wanted to guide others and be in charge. Everything from being involved in student council to becoming class president were all part of my leadership experiences growing up. I had always looked at leadership as a position and role where others looked up to me and aspired to be like me. It wasn’t until I had the opportunity to serve others that I began to understand the meaning of service and servant leadership.
The idea of servant leadership is having the ability to change the focus from the leader to those they are serving. This was a strange concept for me at first because I always liked to be in the spot light. It wasn’t until I had the opportunity to go on a mission trip to a Navajo reservation in New Mexico when I finally discovered how amazing it was to be a servant leader. As seen in my movie clip, going on this mission trip changed my outlook on what leadership around the world should look. It additionally, painted a picture in my mind of what the next few years in leadership would look like for me. Going on many different missions trips I was able to learn about love and how to spread it to everyone. I feel in love with working with kids and was able to draw my strength and inspiration from them alone. Being apart of mission teams opened my eyes to the possibilities of leadership all around the world.
In the video, I talked about how each mission trip had such an incredible impact on my life and me. While being in New Mexico, my eyes were opened for the first time to the kind of poverty that exists. This was something that I had never been exposed to before and had developed a new appreciation for the ability to go to school, have a beautiful home, and a deliciously prepared meal on the table three times a day. The last piece of the video discussed my experiences when I was in Africa. Being in Africa changed my heart in a totally different way. My first experiences with mission trips opened my eyes to the blessings I had and made me extremely more grateful for everything I have back home. However, being in Africa not only reminded me of this but also had a way of opening my eyes to some of the things god had planned for me. It became clear that Africa was a place where I was being called to work and to serve. Being apart of this mission team transformed the way I looked at mission work and the way I looked at my own life. Being a college student, I now desire to work with others and act as a true servant leader.

This video is also my leadership reflection #2