Old Dominion University’s LeADERS program connects students to courses and real world experiences in the areas of: Leadership, Academic Internship, Diversity, Entrepreneurship, Research, and Service Learning. This LeADERS ePortfolio shares how my experiences in the areas of Leadership, Academic Internship, Diversity, Entrepreneurship, and Service Learning have supported my personal and professional development.

​      I joined leaders because I wanted to take the opportunity to become a more well-rounded student and future professional. LeADERS allowed me to branch outside of my major, minor, and outside of my comfort zone to learn real world problem-solving skills, team environments, and so much more. Without this opportunity, I would not have been able to grow in areas such as entrepreneurship, leadership, and diversity which were all are skills needed to help you grow not only as a person but employee and team member. 

      A significant challenge I faced throughout my LeADERS courses was being pushed outside of my comfort zone. I took classes that were not necessarily related to my major, for example my entrepreneurship course. I am a dental hygiene major and did not know the slightest thing about any business related courses. It was a challenge because I am not used to being pushed out of my comfort zone, but it allowed me to learn so much about not only creating a business but grit and perseverance. I was able to learn teamwork skills and personal skills that apply to dental hygiene and I will forever carry them with me. I overcame the challenge of being out of my comfort zone by persevering and in life, especially in ones career you will be pushed outside of your comfort zone which has taught me a valuable lesson. 

​      Significant successes I had during my LeADERS courses was being able to take the skills I learned from the areas of Academic internship, Diversity, and Entrepreneurship and apply them to my service learning. When I first started seeing patients I as outside of my comfort zone and was nervous about talking to people I did not know, but because of the past experiences I had with the previous courses from LeADERS I was able to apply those skills and overcome my nervousness and communicate throughly with al my patients, enhancing their care. 

​      As I stated above, all the courses together taught me the same skill but in a different light. For example my entrepreneurship course taught me how to communicate verbally to an audience through presentations, while my Dental Hygiene Services course taught me how to communicate verbally one on one with a patient. Both taught me how to read an audience whether one person or thirty and communicate to them on a level that they will understand and stay engaged.For my diversity course, Ethics, the discussion board assignment of healthcare arguments have helped me be more prepared for how I am going to practice ethically as a Dental Hygienist. Although my ethics class was focused on the nursing side of things, it also applied to my dental hygiene courses. It allowed me to see what ethical arguments there are in the dental world and has prepared me on how to make a decision that is most ethical.  

       Post graduation my professional goal is to become a dental hygienist, while my educational and personal goal is to sit on boards within the dentistry field to expand my skills in diversity, leadership, research and service learning. My goal is to continue to grow professionally and personally, which LeADERS has helped me identify. Sitting on boards, staying up to date with clinical research, and voting on laws that govern the dental hygienists will aid in my development f these skills. Experiences such as my ethics course and ​entrepreneurship course has prepared me to achieve these goals. I can speak in front of an audience on committees. I have had practice making hard designs and backing them with appropriate evidence. I have also had clinical practice which will help me become a dental hygienist. 

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