Sara Youssef’s Personal Development Plan

April 15th, 2020

What is Leadership?
Leadership is being able to lead and guide a team or group of people to accomplish a shared
goal/common purpose and/or bring about positive change. What differentiates a “leader” from a
“boss” is that the former is fully engaged with the team, assigning tasks to team members, but
also putting in his/her shared effort into the project. On the other hand, a “boss” is usually
viewed as someone who gives orders and takes credit, while not putting in as much effort as the
team, creating an imbalance in the work distribution. I believe that the best of leaders lead
through example, which I have striven to do as President of the Avicenna Student Initiative
registered student organization. Having compassion and justice as two of my core values
influence the way I practice leadership, as they ensure I treat everyone fairly and
compassionately. We are all human beings after all, and I structure my team to serve as a
healthy community of like-minded, driven students. When dilemmas arise, I take creative
approaches, allowing for progress to be made despite of inevitable challenges. Importantly,
anyone can be a leader! Having an official leadership title is not the only qualifying factor.
Being a driven individual, who sincerely cares and is compassionate about improving your
community and overcoming challenges to do so makes you a leader! A leader stands up for the
little guy and helps when others may not. Or joining an initiative with the goal of bringing about
justice and making a positive impact in the community. Leadership takes creativity to find
solutions to problems, knowledge to understand the issue and the needs of the people, and the
drive to face challenges, bringing justice, compassion, and change along.
What are Sara’s Leadership Competencies?

Empathy is one of the competencies I have chosen to focus on during my college career, as it is
an important skill to have in order to be able to connect with other human beings. People
appreciate being understood, even if I have not necessarily experienced the exact struggles they
have. Nonetheless, being able to put myself into their shoes, actively listen, and remain
nonjudgmental, allowing them to speak freely and honestly about their experiences, is a skill I
aspired to achieve. Towards the end of my college journey, I am proud to say that I have
enhanced this skill through my role as a Student Leader volunteer at Carle Foundation Hospital.
As a Student Leader volunteer, one of my tasks included rounding on patients. I had the
opportunity to interact with and engage in regular conversations with patients, something that
they did not always get with medical professionals, who were focused on their health. At the
same time, I would be completing my duty of checking to make sure any concerns they had were
addressed and that their rooms were clean and organized.

As volunteers, we have the gift of time.

Therefore, our primary objective was to talk with patients and help make their day shine a bit
brighter. To successfully do so, the skill of empathy came into play. During our orientation, our
Volunteer Coordinator had us attend trainings that focused on these skills, including having us
watch Dr. Brene Brown speak about the importance of creating a genuine empathetic connection,
which was part of her full talk “The Power of Vulnerability.” This orientation helped provide me
with the knowledge needed to improve on the skill of empathizing with others. The positive
responses I received from patients served to reassure me that I have been able to successfully
apply the knowledge I had attained. I hope to continue improving and using this skill, as I aim to
enter the healthcare field, and a large portion of becoming a successful physician lies in a
physician’s ability to connect with his/her patients. Furthermore, I used empathy in the
classroom setting, particularly when assigned into group work/group projects. One of my
teammates wasn’t able to complete his portion of the assignment by the deadline. However,
when he communicated his situation, I was able to empathize with his condition, and we were
able to make changes to our game plan in order to still meet our goals. A third experience I have
used to develop this competency is through my volunteer work at the Daily Bread Soup Kitchen.
Serving food to the guests there and engaging with them in small talk has helped me empathize
with people’s conditions in life, as well as helped me build a stronger feeling of community and
purpose. All these different experiences I sought out have allowed me to walk into various,
diverse people’s shoes and gain a new perspective on the lives living around me.

I believe that communication is key to being able to accomplish tasks, as whether I am working
in a team or individually, I will inevitably be interacting with people.

Therefore, being able to have strong

communication skills will help in reducing
misunderstandings, as both parties will
understand expectations and
responsibilities.
In order for that to happen, both parties must be open to sharing their viewpoints in a coherent
manner and listening to opposing viewpoints. It doesn’t only have to be about viewpoints! It can
be listening to instructions (as a student), giving instructions (as a teaching assistant), or
conveying information to team members (as part of a team project). I have developed this
competency through my college career and the opportunities I sought. My goals were to become
better in communicating with other people, enhancing my written and verbal communication
skills, and being less shy and more confident when communicating with others. Being the Media
Chair of the Avicenna Student Initiative RSO, I had the responsibility of providing weekly
updates to our members and updating our social media accounts with upcoming events and
information. It was especially crucial for me to utilize excellent communication skills when
organizing Avicenna’s Annual 5K Run, coordinating with the separate committee groups (the
advertising group, fundraising group, public relations group, and logistics and setup group) to
make sure everyone was on schedule and meeting weekly objectives and goals. Through my
exceptional commitment and involvement in the organization, I was given the position of
President the following year. This role resulted in an even greater use of communication skills,
as I had to communicate with our board members and team to make sure we had set goals to
accomplish. I also had to give verbal presentations at our general body meetings, which allowed
me to get out of my comfort zone and become more confident speaking to an audience.
Additionally, in several of my group projects, I had to utilize communication skills via group
chats (such as GroupMe) to make sure that each component of our project was completed on
time, as well as to organize specific dates, times, and locations to discuss the progress of our
project in-person.

Striving towards establishing a common purpose is important, as it reminds everyone involved

the why behind the what. It serves as a constant center point, anchoring the project and mission
of the team in place. It helps build this sense of unity when one knows that everyone involved is
invested in the project for the same reasons. These feelings of unity and commitment among
team members help to further enhance the progression of the project. My goals were to get
involved in projects and organizations that had a purpose that aligned with mine, to help others
realize the importance of having a common purpose, and to use that common purpose to develop
new initiatives in the community. I have developed this competency by seeking out
opportunities and groups that shared my same goals and mission. For example, I joined the
Avicenna Student Initiative RSO because I believe in the importance of healthcare. The purpose
of this RSO is to raise money through several initiatives to help fund Avicenna clinic, a free
clinic that provides healthcare to those who are under- and uninsured in the Champaign-Urbana
area. The RSO’s mission aligned with my goals, so we were a perfect match. Since the members
and I shared a common purpose, we planned and made decisions that were in the best interest of
the RSO and the clinic. It also encouraged us to become more involved and invested in this
cause. I plan to continue being involved in initiatives that involve making healthcare more
accessible to a wider range of people, particularly those who are underserved and who, most of
the time, need it most.

Having human dignity is looking past the labels that may be associated with a person, whether
it’s a stereotype or a socioeconomic class, and being able to recognize others as human beings
and people too. The fact that they are human beings, is a major similarity that we share with each
other, and despite their situation in life, they deserve to be treated with respect as a human being.

That essentially is the core of valuing and

fighting for human dignity: recognizing
that everyone has worth and rights as
human beings.
I chose this competency because of its relevance. My goals were to become more aware of ways
in which humans aren’t being treated with human dignity, how I can become more involved in
providing others with the human dignity they deserve, and to spread awareness about this issue. I
have developed this competency through my involvement with Avicenna clinic. This
competency underlies the way we treat others and our perceptions of others. Our mindset is
shaped on whether or not we believe that others deserve to be treated with human dignity. This
competency can vastly change someone’s decision in how they choose to interact with others. At
Avicenna clinic, the main purpose is to give a voice to those who aren’t represented and to treat
our uninsured patients with dignity. Shadowing physicians, I have seen the respect and common
courtesy they display when communicating with patients, regardless of socioeconomic
differences. In this case, we are all human beings and healthcare access should be a human right
available to all. Regardless of socioeconomic status, one should not be treated lesser than human.
Having human dignity involves removing those arbitrary labels- putting education, money, and
background aside- and seeing people as human beings. I aim to continue developing this
competency through my career and in my daily interactions with diverse people.

Social Justice is important to me, and I chose this as a competency I wanted to pursue and
advance, as I believe it is my duty as a citizen to care about the wellbeing of my fellow citizens.
My goals were to be actively involved in bettering the lives of others, volunteer at free clinics,
and provide aid to disadvantaged populations in my community. Having certain rights and
access to facilities, like healthcare, or being disadvantaged in treatment due to socioeconomic
status and/or race should not be tolerated. I truly believe that we, as a community and, on a
larger scale, as a nation, can improve our wealth distribution, access to education and healthcare,
etc. This is, again, one of the reasons why I have remained firm in my intensive involvement
with Avicenna, as it is a clinic that serves those who are unserved and those who do not have
ready access to healthcare due to socioeconomic status, which should not be the case.

Healthcare should be a right for all.

But, as it currently isn’t, I have been passionate about advocating for the mission of this clinic.
This is one of the ways I have developed this competency. I have also volunteered my time at the
Daily Bread Soup Kitchen, serving food to those in need. Furthermore, I have volunteered my
time at Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore in Urbana, Illinois for my Leadership in Society Honors
class my first semester freshman year. The goal of this organization is to help strengthen,
stabilize, and shelter community members that may need the help, selling home improvement
items at a discounted price. My roles mainly included sorting through donated items and
organizing and shelving those items. Nonetheless, I knew that I was part of a larger cause, and,
hopefully, my small actions would help in the larger scheme of things, allowing community
members to build better lives.

Ultimately, most of my involvement in organizations on campus and in the community have

been oriented towards service and helping others. Being service minded allows me to give back
to my community and helps me achieve a sense of fulfillment that I don’t necessarily always
find when doing things for myself.
 Throughout my college journey, I have
come to the realization that I feel most
fulfilled when I have helped others.
Putting a smile on someone’s face or knowing that my work will help others in a positive way
puts purpose and value in my life. This competency is the center of all that I strive to do. It is the
fuel for my work. I plan to continue to develop this competency by continuing to help those who
are underserved and to help those in need, no matter where I am in the world. My goals are to
continue giving back to my community, to encourage others to volunteer with me, and to be
involved in new initiatives that are service-oriented. During my college years, I have
demonstrated the service mindset by volunteering at Carle Hospital Foundation, Avicenna
Community Healthcare Center, Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore, Daily Bread Soup Kitchen,
Uniplace Christian Church, iHelp (painting the walls of a childcare center and helping a farmer
plant trees), food packaging at UIUC’s Community and Campus Day of Service, and other
miscellaneous volunteering events throughout the years.

My Completion Timeline:

Semester 1: Semester 2: Semester 3: Semester 4: Semester 5: Semester 6: Semester 7:

Fall 2016 Spring 2017 Fall 2017 Spring 2018 Fall 2018 Fall 2019 Spring 2020
Take Academic Complete First Certificate Meet w/Coach Meet w/Coach Complete Complete 8 hours
Leadership Team Information Attend First i- Meet Second Team of Trainings
Course Experience session Program w/Cohort Experience and
Attend Second i- Writing Complete 2 Workshops
Program Reflection hours of Submit ePortfolio
Designing my Papers Trainings and
Leadership Workshops
Certificate
Journey