Student Leader

I interviewed Molly Corcoran, a Sophomore Dance Major who is a peer mentor, and was an orientation leader this past orientation. I agreed with a lot of her ideas about leadership and learned a lot about what taking the opportunities here at UArts can help with leadership and future goals.

Would you consider yourself a leader? Why or why not?

I would consider myself a leader. Obviously there are many ways to
define a leader, but I feel like I am one. If anyone, my closest
friends to new students I'm just meeting, need help/advice I'm more
happy to give it. I like it when I can make someone's life a bit
easier. Whether it's directions on how to register for a class or
taking charge and dividing up the work on a group project that I'm
involved in, I always try to help out the best I can.

How has your education or background let you to be a leader?

Growing up I was always on student council at school and other
leader-type groups. Last year I participated in Emerging Leaders and
it definitely re-enforced ideas and concepts of leadership that I had
started learning and applying prior to college. Also my family has a
lot to do with me being a leader, in many different ways. My
grandmother, a widow, raised four young children on her own and made a
life for herself and them. My mother is the Director of Human
Resources at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and oversees thousands
of employees. My dad followed his dreams and became a music while at
the same time always being there for whatever my sister and I needed.
By watching them and the leadership qualities they exude, I pieced
different parts of them together to create my own leader role.

What do you like the most or (least) about the job?

I've always loved being able to help people. I find it very rewarding.
Sometimes a pitfall of a leader can be taking on too much, whether
it's your own choice or someone elses. You need to be careful that you
don't take more than you can handle.

What future changes do you see in this field?

Along with the rest of the world, I think leadership will be greatly
impacted by technology. It's so easy to hop on the internet to do
something (you don't even need a computer to do that anymore!) or
shoot someone a text. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad thing to have
the technology that we do these days, I just hope that it doesn't
become solely based on technology. To me, leadership is very
personable and using a keyboard to put leadership qualities into play
doesn't have the same effect on me.

Did you find being an orientation leader beneficial to your leadership skills?

I LOVED being an orientation leader. It was most definitely beneficial
to my leadership skills. I had never been in a situation like that
before. It really tests your skills when you're given a group of
students who are new to an area that you know well but at the same
time they really aren't that much younger than you. There's a fine
line between being a helpful peer and overpowering.

What did you gain out of the experience of being an orientation leader?

I can definitely think on my feet faster. Going into it you think you
know all the questions that could possibly be asked but then out of no
where is one you had never thought of. It also made me learn about
UArts even more. I obviously knew about my own college and some of the
other programs but I made sure to learn about the other ones since
there was no way I would have only dance majors. I also loved it
because I was able to meet so many new people, some being new students
and others upperclassmen, and was able to create friendships with
them.

What activities are you involved in on campus?

I have a work study position in the Dean's Office in Student Affairs.
The Student Affairs division includes health services, res life,
student development and activities, and counseling services. I know
the staff in all of the offices and will help out whenever they need
me. I'm also a peer mentor. I'm a mentor for my group from orientation
along with two other groups. I'll plan events (on and off campus) and
be available for the people in my group whenever they need me.

Do you feel in a college environment especially an arts college,
leadership is lacking? Why or why not?

I think students at an arts college have leadership skills whether
they know it or not. With art, the result you get is what you put into
it. I'm always hearing about students scheduling rehearsal space for a
dance, staying in the studio until the wee hours of the morning to
perfect their sculpture, coordinating outside rehearsals for a music
ensemble their in, etc. Though it's not typical leadership, it's
definitely there.

Is it beneficial to be a leader?

I believe it's beneficial to be a leader. Not only are you helping
other people, you are bettering yourself. You become more confident in
who you are and the decisions you make. It teaches you to value your
own opinions as well as others.

Do you feel being a leader effects not just what you do in school but
your own personal life goals?

For me, yes. My leadership qualities keep me focused and driven. In
order to make it in this field you need both of those. Not only
professionally but personally those qualities are needed as well.

Do you think it is important for students to be more aware or involved
in their college experience?

Yes I believe so. In order to get the most out of something you need
to be involved in it. Especially at this school, things are ever
evolving so if a student isn't aware or involved so many opportunities
will pass them by.

What is the job like of a peer mentor? Do many students come to you often?

Being a peer mentor is essentially being readily available to the
students in your group. If it works out, I try to plan events
(especially in the beginning of the year when everyone's new) but
obviously this becomes tough with everyone's crazy schedules. A lot of
the times I'll bump into students in my group if they are in the same
major as me or similar majors that use the same space and I can hear
about how things are going and let them know of anything going on that
I think they might be interested in. Since I don't run into everyone
I'll send out email updates (that pesky technology again!) with things
ranging from reminders about registration to wishing them a nice
break. There are definitely some students that I have stayed in touch
with and have become good friends with while others I've never even
heard from. I think when people hear they're getting a peer mentor,
they think of all the negative connotations that come along with it
like they're being treated like a child who doesn't know anything. In
reality, the peer mentor position is just the opposite. All the peer
mentors remember their first year and our goal is to be a person and
friend who can be called whenever whether it's just to hang out or
with a more serious questions. These are the students who need to
remember that we are not older teachers, we are peers.

Do you feel like the students here at UArts really take advantage of
certain opportunities enough like peer mentoring?

To me it's pretty mixed. Either you take advantage of certain
opportunities full force or you stay far away from them. Like I said
before with the peer mentoring, I think many students don't fully
understand the opportunities and instead of trying to learn about
them, they tend to shy away.

What are some of your goals here at the university and for the future?

I felt that this year I became even more involved on campus by being
an orientation leader, peer mentor, and attending many events. I would
like to keep learning about the different things on campus and become
even more involved. For the future I would love to dance
professionally for some time. After that it's always been a goal of
mine to own and operate my own dance studio. All aspects of my life
will need leadership, but that is something that will not survive
without it.