Moral, Ethical & Spiritual Compass
Graduates should possess a well-defined personal moral, ethical and spiritual compass that provides grounding and directions.
This “compass” should include...
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personal moral, ethical, and spiritual commitments that are reflected through honesty, truth-telling, and servant-oriented approach to leadership
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an ability to articulate a Christian worldview that reflects the values, ethics, and principal teachings of the Christian faith
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an understanding of and commitment to the codes of ethics guiding the various student affairs professional organizations.
Leadership Philosophy Statement
I took an elective course in the Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership program entitled Servant Leadership. As part of the required coursework, I wrote a leadership philosophy statement. The paper explores my personal beliefs about leadership, my understanding of how my leadership style fits within several leadership theories, and how my leadership style applies in current and future situations. The predominate leadership philosophy explored in this statement is Servant Leadership, as that is the style that defines and drives my leadership. This philosophy statement allows me to acknowledge what type of leader I am and the philosophy I adhere too so that I can make informed decisions about the types of positions I seek to take on now and in the future.
Leadership Philosophy Statement
College Director and Youth Leader
As part of my education in Student Development I served as a College Director at a small church in the Los Angeles area for approximately 1 year. I have also served as a high school youth leader at two churches for a cumulative 8 years, with 1 of those years being served as a paid member of staff as the Student Ministries Assistant. My leadership role with adolescents and young adults requires me to have a personal commitment to a personal, spiritual, and ethical compass as well as the ability to articulate a Christian worldview that reflects the values, ethics, and principal teachings of the Christian faith.
As a youth leader and college director I have had hundreds of intimate and spiritually charged conversations with students and parents over issues such as depression, suicide, sexuality, date rape, teen pregnancy, faith development, discipline issues, parenting, respect, college choice, career choice, missions, student development, risk assessment, justice, and relationships. Without a clear notion of what I hold to be true regarding faith, values, morals and ethics I would not be able to effectively lead within the church.
High School Winter Camp
H.I.S. Years Mentor
Over the past year I have found myself involved, as a mentor, in a program called H.I.S. (Hearing, Investing, Serving) Years. The program was envisioned and implemented by the staff of the department of International Outreach Ministries at Azusa Pacific University starting in the fall of 2007. The mission of the program is to strategically equip and send Azusa Pacific University graduates to serve with Christ based community development/mission organizations that work with least/unreached people groups for a minimum of two years.
I was asked to be one of the mentors for the HIS Years program because of my experience in missions, my commitment to students, and my desire to pour into students. My role in the program is to be committed to mentoring a student through the entire HIS Years process including pre-departure (senior year at Azusa Pacific University), in country experience (2 years minimum), debrief and re-entry (1 year after return). I meet weekly with the young woman I mentor. Our discussions cover a wide variety of topics and issues, but overall we spend our time focusing on identity and faith development issues to “ensure” her preparedness for being on the mission field for 2 years. My secondary role is to attend monthly meetings with other HIS Years mentors to discuss trends we have observed in the students we served, how we can be better mentors, and how our personalities and strengths affect our mentoring relationships.
As with my work with students in the Church, my responsibilities as a HIS Years mentor require me to have a solid foundation of my personal beliefs, identity, morals, ethics and values.
The H.I.S. Years student I mentor
