My own self, at my very best, all the time

This summer I had the awesome opportunity to attend the Wakonse Undergraduate Conference in conjunction with the Wakonse Conference on College Teaching in Shelby, Michigan from May 25-30. I was nominated to attend last winter through Iowa State Learning Communities and the Hixson program, and a month after I submitted my application I found out I was one of 5 Iowa State undergrads selected to attend.

Wakonse is a much different conference than one most faculty members attend. It is not at a hotel or in a big city, but instead at Camp Miniwanca, an American Youth Foundation summer camp set on the coast of Lake Michigan. The only way I could fully describe it to people who weren't there was "the summer camp from The Parent Trap". It was absolutely beautiful, full of trees, secluded areas to gather your thoughts, and lots and lots of sand. There was basically zero cell phone reception at the camp, so we were all fully removed from technology. As someone who is not particularly outdoorsy, it was amazing to be able to connect to nature and to those around me without even having the option to check Twitter or see who texted me.

I spent this week learning about myself on a deeper level and thinking about my future and what I really want to do and who I really want around me while I do it. I thought about my attitude toward different situations and how I am as a leader. I had many “Ah Ha!” moments as we called them, where I came to realizations about the importance of learning versus getting a good grade, or that the assignments my professors had me do in the past were actually worthwhile to my education even though I might not have been able to realize it back then. I laughed harder than I ever thought I could with people I barely knew, and made memories and connections with people from all over the country who had so many similarities and differences with each other. Best of all I challenged myself every day to do something I had never done, like canoeing, participating in a high ropes course, and having a one-on-one lunch with a faculty member who I had only briefly met.

At Wakonse, we lived by the motto “My own self, at my very best, all the time”. Since returning home from that life altering and inspiring week I spent on the shores of Lake Michigan, I try to remind myself of that motto as often as I can. That week at Wakonse I was 100% at my best. I did things that I knew were important for me to do, no matter how silly or pointless or lame some people back here might think they were. I connected on a deep level with people that without this conference I would have never had the pleasure of knowing, some of whom inspired me to try even harder than I thought was my best, and challenged me to realize my great leadership ability and that I deserve to be confident in that ability. That week and those people taught me so much more than I could have ever anticipated going into it, and without them I don’t think I could ever truly be “my best”.

-Chels, or more commonly known by my Wakonse fellows Chelsaaaay :D