diana's meanderings

Have Fun. Go Trojans. Love you. - David Smith

WhenEVER my Dad signs off on the phone, he always ends with “Have fun. Go Trojans. Love you!” What more could I ask for to guide me in this life? Thank you to my family and friends who have supported me through my journey at USC. I could not have done it without you. In these past four years, I have grown more than I could have ever imagined, and I know in my heart, I will always be a Trojan. Congratulations class of 2012!

2 weeks ago -

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You are not as nice as you think you are. - Laura Nelson

I must thank Laura for keeping me grounded and never failing to tell me like it is. That is friendship.

3 weeks ago

If I had no idea what your career plans were, I would say you would be a great mediator. – Naader Banki

With a thoughtful answer to one of my many questions, Naad helped me to rethink my future. I always loved ‘the means’ in advertising (messaging strategy) but have worried about ‘the ends’ (selling stuff to people in a hopefully entertaining way). I have wondered if this wil satisfy my desire to make a positive impact with my work. Naad’s comment prompted me to explore a different career path that I had never imagined, if I decide the ad world is not for me. My so called neutrality and ridiculous amounts of question asking could be put to a good use mediating family related and business negotiation cases. I appreciate Naad’s keen judge of character, as well has his ridiculously animated stories.

3 weeks ago -

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You were really the only one who took this class as an opportunity to identify a change you wanted to make in yourself and do it. – Brad Head

At the end of MDA 365, Brad and I were talking about what we learned, and he surprised me with what I took to be a sincere compliment. He told me, “You were really the only one who took this class as an opportunity to identify a change you wanted to make in yourself, and do it.” I had never thought about my participation this way. Brad was referring to my concern about being compassionate to a fault and watering down my true opinions to feeble suggestions, so I could avoid conflict. I had been inspired by the Dutch and my abroad semester in Amsterdam to become more honest and direct. Afterwards, I made a concerted effort to do just that, and I believe I succeeded. Brad made me realize that I rarely let experiences slide by, I try to maximize them, and I should never stop doing this.

3 weeks ago -

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“I never expected you to be the leader of our group.” – Megan Lambert

My MDA 365 group’s countless hours putting our heads and hearts on the line to create Practicing Entrepreneurship with Trojans, a high school entrepreneurship program, finally paid off. We had just presented our work to President Steven Sample, Warren Bennis, and of course, Sadie. In the reflective excitemnt, Megan – one of my closest friends through the process – told me, “I never expected you to be the leader of our group.”

I appreciated her honesty and respected her opinion. I was not upset to hear this, just surprised. Megan gave me the opportunity to think about how I come off to others in a first impression, something I had never considered. I remembered the first time I met Megan and Brad I was very emotional, almost distraught, exploring the idea that I was merely a people pleaser and could not confidently stand for my own opinions. Mind you, I had never talked to the pair before in my life. Megan continued, “You were just so short and so sweet, I never expected you to be the one who held us together.” I didn’t blame her. I just never thought of it before. I must admit, I was happy to prove her wrong.

3 weeks ago

I don’t believe in leadership. I think leadership is something that can just happen if you really care about your work. - Stacy Smith, Professor of Communication

When I met with Stacy Smith, one of the most engaging professors at USC, who specializes in effects of the media, she had a view of leadership that aligned with Courtney. After studying leadership with HOBY and DOZ, it was refreshing to hear a skeptic of the practice. “I don’t believe in leadership. I think leadership is something that can just happen if you really care about your work,” Stacy Smith, told me. In her eyes, passion drives people to make things happen and care for others; leadership is a complete afterthought. Coming from a professor who knew the name of all 200 students in her entry level course, Stacy reminded me to take a step back from the leadership analysis and just do what I love.

http://annenberg.usc.edu/Faculty/Communication%20and%20Journalism/SmithS.aspx

4 weeks ago

“Only devote yourself to organizations you care enough about to change for the better.” – Courtney Quinn, DOZ Alpha Class

In her senior speech for DOZ, Courtney told the chapter how to structure their involvement at college and in life: “Only devote yourself to organizations you care enough about to change for the better.” Ever since I heard Courtney say this, I have evaluated every one of my commitments in these terms. This idea helped me drop the Annenberg Student Communication Association and add Habitat for Humanity. It helped me start Spontaneous Combustion Dance Initiative. And it gave me the freedom of mind to let go from DOZ.

4 weeks ago

“We just aren’t there yet, in terms of everything.” – Therese Wilbur, Marketing Professor

“A leader doesn’t get to say, ‘I don’t feel like it.’” – Warren Bennis, Leadership Scholar

I start out with a motivating quote from my marketing professor this semester. Our class was amidst hundreds of hours of work to develop an integrated campaign for Nissan to pitch in the National Student Advertising Competition. We came into class one particular day having worked on the third rendition of the pitch script and were feeling pretty good about it. When we finished presenting the script, Professor Wilbur hit us with this: “We just aren’t there yet, in terms of everything.” Sure, her opinion was a blow to our egos. However, I took to heart the high expectations Professor Wilbur had for our group, and how easy it is for a group to get wrapped up their work and lose sense of its true quality. Our team continually repeated this quote to help us get through the next three painful rounds of scripts until it was perfect and landed us the title of “Best Presenting Team.”

Beyond Professor Wilbur’s taunt, something Warren Bennis repeated in our MDA 365 class, the Art and Adventure of Leadership, helped me get through this entire year. “A leader doesn’t get to say, ‘I don’t feel like it,’” he often reminded our class. Every time I just wanted to go to sleep, leave a paper without editing it, wait to send those emails tomorrow, apply to jobs next week, skip a couple chapters of the reading, I thought of Bennis and this quote. He is absolutely right.

4 weeks ago -

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A Quote a Day

There are eleven days left until I graduate from the University of Southern California, my home for the past four years. This gargantuan change has led me to reflect on what I have learned here, how I have changed, and the people who have made me think beyond the scope I would have without them. Through the eyes of these friends, role models, and mentors, I have gained a better understanding of myself and who I hope to be.

For each day until graduation, I will write about a quote from someone at USC that made me think, change, or aspire to something greater, and what their words have meant to me all this time.

4 weeks ago

Leadership is not magnetic personality, that can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not “making friends and influencing people”, that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to higher sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.

Peter F. Drucker (via dozalpha)

6 months ago -

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