Goal: To identify and utilize my strengths (Gallup Talents/ StrengthsQuest and/or VIA Character

Strengths) in an interpersonal setting that aligns with the mission, vision, values and sponsored
programs and activities of URIs Center for Student Leadership Development
Activity: I participated in the Diversifying. Recruiting. Inspiring. Volunteering. Educating.
(D.R.I.V.E.) Multicultural Day Program.
Evidence: I have the day host agreement form, and the program itinerary from that day and
evening
Annotation: D.R.I.V.E. is an organization that works to increase the amount of diversity that the
URI campus sees every year. Besides promoting diversity, D.R.I.V.E. works to encourage middle
and high schoolers to consider attending college upon graduation. One of D.R.I.V.E.s biggest
events is their multicultural day and overnight program. During this program, high school seniors
from any state other than Rhode Island who have been accepted to URI and who classify
themselves as a race or a mix of races other than singularly Caucasian are brought onto the URI
campus and treated to activities to introduce them to the URI community. They also share a room
with a URI student for the night to give them an idea of where they will be living when they
attend the University.
Because I do not live on the Kingston campus (as I commute from my home), I did not
have the opportunity to be a night host for the Multicultural program. Because I still wanted to
participate in the activity, I decided to be a Multicultural day host. I arrived at the multicultural
center in the afternoon after I was finished with my classes for the day. Upon arrival, I played
games with the participants and got to know some of them while doing some icebreakers. After
that, we were split into groups and I got to co- lead my group on a scavenger hunt around
campus. During that time, I got to learn even more about the participants I was partnered with.
Once the scavenger hunt was over, I dropped the participants back at the multicultural center so
they could have dinner and go with their overnight hosts.
Participating in this activity worked in accordance with the mission, visions, and values
of URIs Center for Student Leadership Development. Part of the mission of the CSLD is to
provide developmental opportunities for all students to become informed, inclusive, effective,
and ethical leaders. Some of the values of the CSLD are inclusion, social justice, and civic
engagement in addition to engaged and experiential learning. I was able to develop as an
inclusive leader by participating in the Multicultural D.R.I.V.E. program. I do not often interact
with others in large groups, and because I participated, I got to get to know and lead a group of
six prospective URI attendees. I had to include all of them in my conversations and activities
while I was with them because I wanted everyone to feel welcome and comfortable in the group.
This was definitely an engaging way to learn because I had to engage with everyone and through
doing that, I learned a lot about who the people in my group were, including why they decided to
apply to URI.
Participating in this activity also showed me how I can use my strengths and values in
different ways. I used my strength of competition because my group was participating in a
scavenger hunt and we had to work together to accomplish all of the tasks on the hunt. I learned

that a lot of the people in my group were also competitive, and we used that to encourage us as
we scavenged in the cold and rain around campus. I also got to apply my strength of being an
achiever during this process. I wanted to do well in the scavenger hunt, but I also wanted to get
to know the people in my group and make them feel welcome on campus, and I think that my
need to complete things and have them done well drove me to accomplish both of those goals. I
enacted my value love of learning because I was faced with six people I knew nothing about,
and I got to learn about who they are, where they came from, and some of the things that they
hope to achieve. Finally, I got to use my value of perspective while I was participating. One of
the young men in my group was unsure of what he wanted to do with his next four years of life.
He wasnt completely sure that he wanted to attend URI, and he didnt know what he wanted to
declare as a major. Although I entered college knowing exactly what I wanted to do, I used my
perspective to see things from his point of view. I told him that there are plenty of people who
enter college unsure of the path that they want to take, and that he shouldnt worry, because he
had time to figure it out. I also let him know that I was unsure of whether or not to attend URI,
but that he should think carefully about how the environment of each school he visits makes him
feel, and that he should make sure that he feels comfortable wherever he goes. Finally, I told him
that no matter where he ends up going, as long as he stays true to himself and applies himself to
whatever he chooses to do, he will be just fine. He seemed to feel a little better after that, and I
am glad that I could use my values to help him.