HDF 190:

FIRST YEAR LEADERS INSPIRED TO EXCELLENCE

LEADERSHIP PORTFOLIO

Devon Binion
SPRING 2018

devon_binion@my.uri.edu
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Strengths SLIDE #: 3
Opening Statement SLIDE #: 4
Section 1: Self Leadership SLIDE #: 5
Section 2: Leadership Theories SLIDE #: 6
Section 3: Inclusive Leadership SLIDE #: 7
Section 4: Critical Thinking SLIDE #: 8
Section 5: Interpersonal/Organizational Leadership SLIDE #: 9
 Signature Strengths
WOO
Communication
Empathy
Strategic
Activator

Values in Action Strengths

Humor
Judgement
Love
Zest
Appreciation of Beauty & Excellence
 OPENING STATEMENT
My name is Devon Binion and I’m a first year student at the University of Rhode Island majoring
Communication Studies with a double minor in Business and Leadership Studies from Stratford, CT.
My future aspiration is to become a Broadcast Journalist for an entertainment company. My top Gallup
Strengths include WOO, Communication, Empathy, Strategic, and Activator. These strengths help me
with my current involvement here on campus. As a Tour Guide, I win prospective students over using
my communication skills which help me to articulate my love for URI. I’d also like to apply these
strengths to my future career goal. I’d like to empathize with my audience members and speak about
topics and issues they’d enjoy hearing. My communication skills will also help with being a Broadcast
Journalist, since I’d have to speak cohesively. I’ve learned so much through my experience in HDF
190. Not only only about my own leadership style, but leadership in general. I originally thought that
leaders were extroverted individuals who oversee a group of subordinates. After learning about each
of the leadership theories, I now realize that anyone can be a leader. A leader is not simply born into
that role and even the most introverted individuals can be leaders in their own way. I really feel like I
can be great servant-leader since I resonate most with this theory. I hope to involve myself more in
service clubs and organizations such as Rotaract and SOLC for the next academic year. I would
ultimately like to leave a significant impact on URI. My goal is to educate the students about diversity
and it’s importance while simultaneously diversifying the campus.
 SECTION 1
SELF LEADERSHIP
#12: Student will show evidence of goals and objectives that were planned and achieved
From the moment I was introduced to the University of Rhode Island, I knew that I wanted to be a tour guide. My first tour guide,
Cairo, was so charismatic and it seemed like she knew almost everyone on campus. I was immediately fascinated by the tour
guiding team and how they were all so friendly and outgoing. I just knew that I had to apply once school started in the fall. As a
Communications major, I hoped that tour guiding would improve my public speaking skills and push me outside of my comfort
zone. So, I signed up for an interview on a Monday afternoon and didn’t really know what to expect; there wasn’t much for me to
plan for. When the interview first started, I was extremely nervous and it was hard for me to even speak because my voice was so
shaky. I convinced myself that I blew it, even though the other students in my interview had commended me for being so quick
on my feet and making an impression on the interviewers. To my surprise, I was invited back for a second round interview. This
was my chance to really make an impression, I had to get that job, and as an activator, I make things happen. The great thing
about the second round tour guide interview is that you can actually prepare for it. I received four prompts about resources that
we have here at the University (Library, Talent Development Program, Women’s Center, and the Campus Store), and I had to
memorize all of them because I was going to be asked to talk about one of the four at random. I studied so hard for this interview,
probably harder than I had ever studied for any quiz or exam. I knew that I had to go above and beyond just reciting one of the
four resources, so I decided to make it a bit more personal, and talk about my own experiences with each of them. I had to build
up a lot of confidence for this interview, because I knew (and still know) that my fears and anxieties of failing were my absolute
detriment. When I was asked to talk about the Library during my second round interview, I was ready. I hit every single point
because I was so passionate about becoming a tour guide and I had studied for so long. I used the public speaking skills that I
learned in my COM 100 class to better my chances of getting this job. I also relied on my humor and zest, which are actually my
top two VIA values, to liven things up and make it much more personal than just reciting the prompts verbatim. I was absolutely
thrilled when decisions came out and I learned that I would be tour guide. My hard work paid off and I achieved my goal of
become a URI Tour Guide.
 SECTION 1
SELF LEADERSHIP
#3: Student will demonstrate the ability to manage emotions

It’s no secret that life can be complicated at times, and we all have to master the art of managing our
emotions. Coming to college was extremely difficult for me. At home, I loved to hang out with my friends,
however I was super close with my parents and siblings. When my family dropped me off during move in
weekend, I could tell that my Mom came close to crying, but was trying to stay strong to make this
difficult transition a bit easier for me. During my first few weeks of college, I was having mental
breakdowns left and right. One night, it was so bad that I called my best friend, Briana, in a dramatic state
and begged for her to come pick me up. One coping mechanism I used was to ask myself a very
important question: Why am I here? I would constantly ask myself this question, but the trick was that
my response had to be positive. Some of these affirmations included: I will gain independence, I am
constantly surrounded by motivated students, and the opportunities at my University are endless. The
positive aspects of living on a college campus always outweighed the negatives and that’s what helped
me to manage my emotions and also to let myself enjoy the college experience. Also, throughout my time
in HDF 190, I learned my top five Gallup Strengths, which helped me to strategically utilize them in a
manner that balanced my personal, emotional, and academic life. I was able to successfully complete my
first semester of college, and obtained a 3.8 GPA.
 SECTION 2
Leadership Theory and Models
#28: Student will describe personal application of the above theory (Greenleaf)
I personally resonate with the Servant Leadership theory over the others. I was fortunate enough to be elected as the Secretary of DRIVE
for the Spring 2018 semester. Our mission is to Diversify the University of Rhode Island’s campus, and we do so through our main event
which is called the Multicultural Overnight Program. This is a program that allows prospective students to attend a class, eat in the
dining halls, and even spend a night in the residence halls. I was super excited to host a student overnight for this event, since this
program is why I chose to come to URI. I got the opportunity to host two students for this event, but unfortunately, one of them was not
willing to participate in any of the activities and wouldn’t even speak to his fellow prospective students. The easiest thing for me to do
would’ve been to just give up, and to leave my student with another overnight host. Commitment to the growth of people is a
characteristic of this theory that reminded me of my role as a servant-leader. I knew that I’d be able to stay by his side, and encourage
him to participate in the activities we had organized for the students prior to the event. Although we didn’t necessarily have a major
breakthrough, my student made it through the night without calling his parents to pick him up. He even asked some questions about
college while we were eating dinner. I had quite the opposite situation with the other student I hosted. This student was everything I
could've asked for and more. He participated in all of the activities, he asked the hosts and volunteers questions about URI, and even
made some great bonds with the other prospective students. I was happy that he was having a great time, but since he was so social, he
wanted to hang out with the other students all night. I was drained from the long day of activities and I had to wake up extremely early
the following day to participate in Welcome Day. Again, it would have been very easy for me to tell him that we both had to wake up early
the next day, but I remembered how cool it was to spend the night at a college campus as a high school student. At my MOP, I was up all
night hanging out with the college volunteers and the other high school students. I had such great time because it was an amazing
experience and I didn't want to take that away from my student. I watched as he had the time of his life, and I couldn’t be happier. I
practiced stewardship in this moment, which is the commitment to the needs of others. He needed to experience the event without my
control or influence. The following morning, on our way up to breakfast, he told me that he had a great time and that URI had moved up
on his list of colleges. That’s what made it all worth it for me. As a servant-leader, you are a servant first and a leader second. I feel that I
was an efficient and successful servant-leader on the night of the MOP.
 SECTION 3
Inclusive Leadership / Diversity and its application to leadership
#97: Student will create a personal code of inclusive leadership
After taking part in the Day of Discovery at the beginning of the semester and learning my Gallup Strengths, I was
able to learn a few things about inclusive leadership. At our Day of Discovery, we learned more specifically about
the Active Listening Model and its techniques. There are five main components to the Active Listening Model:
Encouraging, Restating Basic Ideas, Reflecting Feelings, Clarifying, and Summarizing. At first, it seemed like a lot
to take in, but when I practiced these techniques for the first time, I noticed how much of an impact they made on
my daily conversations. As a leader, it’s extremely important to give your undivided attention to your group
members and to give value to each of their ideas. The fact that empathy is one of my top strengths allows for me
to genuinely practice these active listening techniques. As a leader, I will take the time to encourage the members
of my group and restate their basic ideas, just so they know that I’m listening attentively. Also, as someone who
empathizes for others, I genuinely want people to feel that their ideas are valued and I want to hear what people
have to say. I want each and every person in my group/organization to feel comfortable sharing their experiences
with me. When we practiced these techniques on the Day of Discovery, it was a really great way to bond with the
members of my group. When each member shared their stories about their identity (more specifically: sexuality,
socio-economic statues, and gender identity), I could tell that Marion, our peer leader, was genuinely interested in
what each of us had to say. She asked us questions about these experiences and it was obvious that her attention
was directed toward us only. I’d like to utilize my strength of empathy as a leader in order to enhance the
techniques of this model.
 SECTION 5
(Interpersonal and Organizational Concepts and Skills )
#28: Student will describe personal examples of organizing meetings / setting agendas / leading
meetings

This semester, I ran for and was granted the position of DRIVE Secretary, which is a multicultural student organization at my University
that works with admissions to diversify campus. DRIVE stands for: Diversifying, Recruiting, Inspiring, Volunteering, and Educating. We
host one major event, called the Multicultural Overnight Program, that allows for prospective students who have identified themselves as
diverse on the Common Application to visit the campus, eat in the dining hall, spend the night in a residence hall, and experience this
University first hand. In order for these students to spend the night in the residence halls, we need to find hosts they can stay with.
Obviously, it’s important that we don’t have prospective students spending the night in a residence hall with just anyone who signs up,
which is why we organized a Mandatory Host Meeting for the hosts to attend. This meeting was important since we explained the rules
that ensue with hosting a high school student. For example, hosts are not allowed to take their students off campus, prospective
students are not allowed to spend the night with anyone other than their hosts, and they’re obviously not allowed to drink alcohol or
have any involvement with illegal substances. We decided to hold this meeting in atrium two of the Memorial Union from 6:30PM-8:30PM
on Thursday March 29, 2018. As secretary, it’s my responsibility to send out e-mails and run the social media page. I sent out a few e-
mails in the days prior to the Mandatory Host Meeting, reminding those who have signed up to be hosts to attend the meeting. I also
posted several reminders on the DRIVE Instagram account to ensure that the host’s were informed. The members of e-board, along with
our advisor, created the agenda for the night of the meeting. DRIVE members were set to arrive at atrium 2 for 6:15PM to help set up
while overnight hosts arrived at 6:30PM. All hosts received a folder that contained a contract stating that they would oblige by the rules
along with an agenda for the day of the MOP (Multicultural Overnight Program). The rest of the night consisted of presentations given by
DRIVE members. I was responsible for going over the agenda for the day of the MOP. I explained where our hosts should be at each point
throughout the day as well as what they should be doing with the prospective students. I opened the floor to any questions so there
would be no confusion about the responsibilities of the overnight hosts. I was able to play a major role in organizing the Mandatory Host
Meeting as well as setting the agenda for this meeting. I was also able to facilitate a portion of the meeting as I spoke about the order of
events on the day of the Multicultural Overnight Program.