New Fellows Session with Dr. Shucker

Post by Alyx Labbe - Freshman Fellow

The session with Dr. Shucker was definitely one in which I learned the most about myself. To begin, we did an activity where each one of us was told to choose a partner. We were given a couple of minutes to reflect upon whom we would choose. We were told that this person would be our partner for the remainder of the time, therefore we were advised to choose wisely yet choose someone we were fairly unfamiliar with. After a short countdown, we were left to make our choice. This choice was ultimately a product of making eye contact with an individual and deciding to be partners. It was stressful, yet you were relieved after finding your partner. He then had us reflect on our choice of partner and then predict why our partner chose us. It made me think about how I presented myself during the exercise and how that relates to presenting yourself as a leader.

The second phase of the activity involved the group splitting into two sections: those who considered themselves a “chooser” and those who considered themselves a “choosee.” The choosees were then forced to choose a partner from the group of choosers. It made the individuals who were so used to waiting to be chosen actually make the final decision. I found this part of the activity both the most challenging and most beneficial part of the session. It forced me to come out of my comfort zone and be the assertive leader. The group that was the choosers was also told that they could reject the offer to be partners with someone. This forced the choosees to deal with rejection. I, personally, had to deal with rejection twice, which was not an easy task. However, I overcame that obstacle and found that the rejection did not stop me from completing the task; it taught me that I could persevere through it.

I would definitely say that this session as one of my favorite sessions we have had. Dr. Shucker is an outstanding individual whom anyone would be lucky to get a chance to speak with and also learn from his extensive knowledge on leadership. ​