Once United, Never Divided: Unite UW

How Unite UW helped shape me into the leader I am today.

Unite Winter Quarter 2018 Pack Forest Retreat

Overview

Once United Never Divided. That is the motto for the organization Unite UW that I had the honor of being a part of for 6 quarters of my time as an undergraduate. This popular program holds room for 45 international and 45 domestic students each quarter. These 90 students are divided into groups of 30 and within these groups there is one program leader, 4-5 facilitators and the rest are known as participants. Each person plays a critical role in bridging the gap between international and domestic students on campus. I began my time with Unite as a facilitator, which taught me valuable organizational skills, interpersonal communication, attention to nonverbal communication, and the value of making a large campus feel small. After two quarters of facilitating small groups, I was then able to become a program leader in my freshman year. I learned a lot about effective communication, organization, interpersonal problem solving, and the power of diversity and networking.

Personal Importance of Work:

Unite UW prides itself on “embracing diversity and pursuing knowledge and unity by sharing stories, fostering leadership, and developing strong friendships”. As a facilitator I was able to interact more directly with participants in my program and in the other programs as well. To be a good facilitator one had to be out-going, genuine, open-minded, and a good listener and through this position I was able to strengthen those skills. A lot of the participants were freshman, however there were always a handful of upperclassmen and each member came with their own identities. These identities both dominant and marginalized allowed us to have beautiful ah-ha moments while sharing our stories. Powerful connections were made due to the willingness of the individual but also due to the helpful facilitation of the group leaders.

While I was a Program leader my responsibilities shifted away from small groups to the team building amongst my facilitators and the overall smooth running of our weekly program meetings. This role was more goal-oriented and data driven. Through this position, in hosting weekly facilitator training, whole-program meetings, and weekend activities my role became more administrative. In this position, I quickly learned how to communicate efficiently with different audiences (fellow program leaders, facilitators, and participants). Not to mention we worked on recruiting new potential facilitators from our group of participants and we recruited new students on campus by tabling during lunchtime hours. This work taught me the importance of organizational structures and how to spot strengths and weaknesses within myself and my colleagues so that we could work on growth together while also being efficient with who is asked to do what in order to reach our goals on time.

Tasks Accomplished:

• Host weekly meetings

• Facilitate small group (5-6 students)

• Story-telling

• Goal setting

• Goal management

• Time Management

• Interpersonal communication

• Drive a company car

• Attend events in large groups

• Organize large group events

Leadership Competencies Gained:

#1 Diversity

The mission of this program is to bridge the gap between domestic and international students through friendship. While reviewing the applications, we take into consideration how balanced our program will be through cultural makeup. We promote difference and we encourage curiosity of other cultures. It is a safe space to ask questions about cultures participants may not have had much exposure to. We are proud of the way our students walk away from the program knowing how to navigate conversations about difference.

#2 Organizational Behavior

This was my first time dealing with an organization on a large scale. I learned how to make an application stand out and go through an interview process. Once I became a part of the organization I learned that there are levels to reaching a group goal and that the role of a facilitator is just as important as the role of the Program leader and that the work counts in different ways to achieving the overall goal. There is a need in organizations for HR and for admin and I would say that being a facilitator was likened to an HR role whereas being a program leader was more of an administrative role.

#3 Nonverbal Communication

Being a program based in Seattle Wa the predominant language of use was expected to be english. However, not all of our students, domestic or international, had english as a first language. So, while we were doing our roundtable (big group story-telling), each of us learned to read the tone/emotion/deeper meaning of the words being spoken through body language, inflection and more. This skill of understanding nonverbal communication is something that each person who participated in the program walked-away with a stronger muscle in.

#4 Empathy.

Unite UW helped me learn empathy most through our round-table activity during the retreat the second weekend of every new quarter. This is because prior to the retreat every person has only interacted with one another one or two times so by the time they’re engaging for the third time we are asked to open up and be vulnerable while sharing a story about what makes us who we are. Vulnerability is a terribly hard thing to practice especially when in front of a group of basically 30 strangers. Exercising empathy during this trip became the backbone of each program. Remembering the tender moments we were able to share helped us practice empathy each week during weekly meetings as we engaged with one another.

#5 Goals

Due to the limited time of the program we were very focused on setting goals before the program began and analyzing them the moment we said goodbye to our participants. Every person joined the program with different individual goals, that they brought to the group to create shared goals. There was the main goal of creating long-lasting friendships and each week we set a short S.M.A.R.T. goal to make sure we were working towards our big goal. We had team meetings to talk about our progress in reaching these goals and bounced ideas off of each other to ensure we could try and reach our main goals the next week.

#6 Facilitation

This program is built on facilitation. Quite literally the background of the program are the 15 facilitators that we select each quarter. The facilitators are the movers and the community builders of the program. Each facilitator is responsible for a group of 5 participants for whom they serve as mediators for bonding moments. Facilitators are powerful because they can help shape the course of the program and this is true in any setting. Some skills facilitators have are mindfulness, communication, strong listening skills, and adaptiveness.

#7 Productive Relationships

Unite UW is centered on productive relationships; The program would not be possible without them. A productive relationship within Unite UW is one where everyone involved is encouraged to share their stories and experiences while learning from those they hear from others. These relationships foster a sense of security and comfort to ask questions that push our understanding of one another.

#8 Collaboration

Nothing in Unite UW is done individually, the organization is a community based program. That in mind we cannot reach our goals without first learning how to collaborate with our peers. Any new idea or change of course for the program is made as a joint group decision. This is how Unite UW manages to stay student oriented.

Lessons Learned and Future Oriented Statement

Being a part of Unite UW taught me a lot about myself. I learned that when I do work that I love I am more motivated to find the best outcomes. I have also learned that there is an important balance between work and play. Gaining an understanding of organizational structures has helped me in my approach to new working environments as well. I learned that I appreciate a workspace that values difference and cultivates leadership. These findings I will carry with me into the future so that when I join new workspaces I know they will foster the environment I thrive in.