The day started with bagels. I went with some of the Pittsburgh students to buy a pile of bagels for all of us for breakfast. So I got my morning excise climbing Cardiac Hill (named for either the workout it gives or the resulting medical problems from attempting to climb it.) I helped carry and then, naturally, eat breakfast. Then a few hours later, headed down to the William Pitt Union building. This used to be a hotel and as such, is huge and gorgeous. Because of the adaptation of the building from hotel to student services building it has a few quirks, like a staircase to no where that was created when the elevator is installed.
Our first presentation was my Major General Randal Fullhart, where he discussed the four main characters of the Wizard of Oz and what leadership lessons we can learn from them. In a short summary, to be a good leader you need to have intellect (Scarecrow's Brain), passion (Tin Man's Heart), Courage (Duh.) and strong character (Dorothy's helpfulness and kindness). He also noted that during one of the parts of "Off to see the Wizard" where they note that the Wizard needs to be a Wizard who will serve. One of Frances Hesselbein's famous quotes is"to serve is to live" - the idea that as a leader we should also serve the community around us and our team, to build up others not just ourselves.
After dinner, my mentor Ms Toshiko Inoue, told us of her journey from Japanese small town to New York City Financial Adviser, including meeting Frances Hesselbein through the Girl Scouts Movement. Afterwards, we split into our mentoring groups and discussed moments in our lives that have guided us on the path we now find ourselves on. My group has five individuals with amazing stories - a Nigerian Mechanical Engineering student who despite having both parents die and not starting school until his was eight, start his own engineering company and now study his Masters of Pipeline Engineering in Canada; an Indonesia Civil Engineering Student who's mother works in Saudi Arabia, forcing him to look after himself from a very young age; the Commanding Officer Cadet from Virginia Tech who has worked her way up the ranks and now has a full scholarship through college and a Pittsburgh Neurology and Anthropology student who works within his University and Community to support and empower LGBTI+ youth.
Our final presentation was from Ms Joan Kuhl, who discussed the way young people interact with the current job market and made us reevaluate our definition of success. She looked at the five questions developed by Peter F. Drucker and highlighted disparities in demographics in leadership, For instance, she noted that whilst females had twice as many mentors as males, they had only a third of the number of sponsors (on average) and that was one of the key reasons why young women struggled to develop their careers. She certainly provided some serious food for thought.
We concluded the day with a dessert room - strawberries dipped in chocolate! - and some chilling in the social lounge where I demonstrated my complete lack of skills at Pool. With only two days left I'm already excited, yet feeling a growing sense of inadequacy. These young people are so accomplished and I have discovered that I really have so much to do and learn. Hopefully I can take what I discover here and apply it back home.
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