Fall 2022
Walk and Roll: Embracing Transportation Choices
This SLI was all about learning about sustainable transportation on campus! I really enjoyed it, and I learned a lot about electric vehicles that I didn't know. I thought that all EVs were great for the environment, but it turns out a hybrid car is best! I also learned about EV parking on campus, and opportunities to minimize my impact on the environment.
Managing Stress
This SLI was all about stress, something I know everyone has dealt with in the past three years. It was really interesting to hear statistics about stress on Ithaca College's campus. I also learned about a service called Sanvello, which offers mental health support for students in the form of daily check-ins, reflections, and guided meditations.
The Introverted Leader
As an introvert, leading can sometimes be challenging. It's intimidating to put my ideas out there, yet it is something that must be done. The Introverted Leader was all about this, and specifically the strengths that Introverted Leaders have! The SLI made me much more confident in myself, and my ability to lead.
Spring 2022
Who Needs Sleep?
In this SLI, I learned about the adverse effects of not getting enough sleep, as well as the benefits and strategies for good sleep. I also learned about caffeine use, and strategies for healthily using caffeine.
Knowledge to Action
This SLI was extremely beneficial, because it allowed me to learn strategies to safely intervene when witnessing injustice. This SLI really served to give me motivation to intervene when I witness injustice, as they provided me with many strategies for intervening, as well as resources to involve proper structures in both Ithaca College and Tompkins County.
Pleasure Activism
This SLI was different from the others, as it prioritized mental health, and how to be an activist for your mental health. It really made me think about what issues I would enjoy being an activist about, and how I would be able to engage with those issues. For example, I am very passionate about the environment, and numerous resources for environmental activism were discussed.
Fall 2021
SGC Funding Workshop
In this SLI, I learned all about how to apply for funds from SGC. I was completely unfamiliar with this process going into the session, but afterwards I am confident that I am able to successfully secure funds for my club!
Enjoying Sex and Relationships at College During a Pandemic
This SLI was very useful, because I was able to learn a lot about how to practice safe sex and relationships during a pandemic. Coming from a Catholic school, I never had much sexual education, let alone what that would look like during a pandemic. This SLI taught me a lot about how to safely engage with others in times like these.
Sleep Health
This SLI was an unexpected, but welcome, change to what I signed up for. Originally, I planned to do Opioid Overdose Prevention training, but unfortunately the speaker cancelled last minute. Instead, we had a presentation about Sleep Health, which I found very useful. I am someone who will pull all-nighters without much though t in order to finish my work, but this SLI really had me question about the healthiness of that habit.
Spring 2021
The Impact of Cinema: How it Affects You and Me
As a Math and Physics student, I rarely do anything that interacts with cinema. In fact, I'm a self-admitted non-movie-goer. Going to this SLI taught me about how valuable Cinema really is, and it was very interesting to see how much of society was featured in film. In the session, we talked about famous movies and their impact on cultural and societal changes
The Gift of Gab: the Art of Public Speaking
Because of our virtual world, I decided the SLI the Gift of Gab: the Art of Public Speaking would be a perfect refresher on public speaking skills for when I actually am able to see people in person again. The main takeaway I had from this presentation was giving a speech on a topic that you hear about 2 minutes before the speech. I enjoyed this experience, and it was good to focus on limiting words like "um" and "like"
Why your Attitude as a Student Leader Matters
My final SLI for Spring 2021 was about leading, in particular how your actions and words are able to affect the quality of a productive team. We talked about how important it was to have a positive attitude, and used specific examples of scenarios we've experienced where a positive attitude was beneficial. We also talked about the responsibility you take as a leader.
Fall 2020
A Friendly Environment
The SLI "A Friendly Environment" was all about how to encourage healthy competition in the workplace. This was extremely interesting for me, because as someone who wants to be a scientist, I hadn't even thought about competition in the workplace. This SLI taught me a lot about how to ensure that you don't overstep your boundaries when dealing with competition in the workplace, as well as making sure everyone was being treated equally.
Online Organizational Resources for Student Leadership
Starting in Fall 2020, I was elected Secretary for the Society of Physics Students. I went to this SLI in order to find out a lot more about resources Ithaca College provided in order to promote participation in this crazy COVID-19 semester. I learned a lot about how to more effectively use Engage, as well as different options to communicate with the members of my club.
Grit
The SLI "Grit" was all about achieving your goals. It was part of The Student Leadership Institute's "TEDensday Talks," where every Wednesday a TED talk is played and discussed. This TED talk was given by a person who was an accountant, and went to teach seventh-graders. Her perspective was extremely insightful, as she noticed that IQ wasn't the only thing that made students smart. Grit was, which is the perseverance someone is willing to put in. This TED talk was very helpful in cultivating the idea that anyone can do anything.
Spring 2020
Uh-oh vs. Ta-da teams
The Uh-oh vs. Ta-da teams SLI began with us completing a challenge. The Challenge was to assemble the tallest structure just using uncooked spaghetti, marshmallows, string, and tape. I've done similar things to this in the past, so I mainly took a supportive role and let others figure it out. The goal of the activity was to show how different people work in a team and how some people naturally click, while others don't.
Leading is Listening
I don't have a picture for this SLI, and I think that perfectly describes what it was all about. Leading is Listening had a very simple concept, which was we all take turns answering questions that the presenter asked. However, whenever someone answered a question, we couldn't make comments on it, we could only listen. This proved to be highly effective, and by the end of it we all shared and listened a lot.
Climate Change
Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, my last SLI of the semester was online. This took place on Earth Day, and was all about our changing climate. It covered how much has changed in recent years, due to rising temperatures. It gave an overview of the situation, and showed how much trouble the human race is in if we don't take action. However, it ended on a slightly happier note, showing how there is still hope.
Fall 2019
Paper Scrapers
In the SLI Session Paper Scrapers, we were informed about all the different roles people play in teams or groups. I personally identified with the Creator role. After that, we paired off into teams and were instructed to create a marketable product using only paper materials. This taught me about teamwork with new people.
Servant Leadership
In the SLI Session Servant Leadership, the idea of leading by serving was emphasized. This is an idea that I have lived by for as long as I can remember, however I didn't realize it until this session. During the session, we reflected on people who made an impact in our lives and how they did it. Using this, we were able to try to go forward and influence people in the same way.
Energy
This SLI Session was all about energy, renewable energy, and energy at Ithaca College. I found it particularly interesting, because I didn't know all the strides made by Ithaca College in an effort to reduce their carbon emissions. It was presented by the Office of Energy Management and Sustainability, and they really showed how Ithaca plans to be a green campus.