1Running head: PHOTO ELICITATION PROJECT

2PHOTO ELICITATION PROJECT

Photo Elicitation Project: Part 1Russell C. AivazianLoyola University Chicago

Leadership

When I think about leadership and the qualities of a good leader, I often think about those people who stand out above the rest and are able to rally support for a cause among a diverse group of people. George S. Pattons quote in the picture above made me stop and reflect about if that is a true depiction of leadership. Even those people who have risen in a group as a leader or have been appointed/elected to a leadership position may fall into the trap of agreeing with the popular opinion. Effective leaders use their positions to help others come to sound decisions by seeing multiple angles and developing group members by challenging their viewpoints. As the quote suggests, if a group is being led to maintain status quo, no one is thinking. It is the role of a leader to help others to get out of the same way of thinking, while developing them individually.In our nation, we often consider leaders as those who are in charge of state, local, or national government agencies. Perhaps it is because we elect these leaders or because they are the most visible, but those in politics who are often cited as the leaders in our society. This is a picture of the Florida State Capitol building, which houses the elected leaders in the State of Florida. As I walked through the capitol grounds I thought about how I often compare my leadership style to those who are the most visible in our society. It makes me stop and think about how I can not only identify my own unique qualities for leadership, but help foster those qualities in students as well.

Power

For me, power is the force someone (or something) exerts on another to help change a course of action or behavior. As I passed this tree on the Florida State University campus, I thought about the nature of power and how it plays a role in my various interactions throughout a normal day. Like the lightning that hit this tree, I can use (and have used) my agent identities to advocate for my own needs, which is most likely damaging to another person who does not share that same identity. Even though power can be used to negatively change another persons course of action or behavior, it can also be used positively as well. Since I identify as having many agent identities, I often need to take a step back to understand how power plays a role in my interactions and how to use power positively to dismantle oppression in society.

Social Justice

During my time as an intern this summer at Florida State University (FSU), I worked to coordinate the overnight accommodations for summer orientation students. After checking into housing, the orientation students would be asked to form lines, based on gender, in order to be placed in their housing assignments. At FSU, roommate assignments for orientation are decided by whom you end up standing next to as the students are checking in for housing. During this process, our receptionist staff paired roommates together based on gender. Within my first few weeks at my internship, I noticed that the student staff would pair roommates and place students in lines based on their physical appearance. Throughout the summer, I worked with the receptionist staff to allow students to self-identify their gender, rather than basing it on appearance. This also brings up the issue of gender-neutral housing accommodations, which is something that I constantly think about as a Graduate Assistant in Residence Life.

At Florida State University (FSU), images of the Seminole mascot (visible in the center of the photo) are visible throughout the campus. While talking to a member of my student staff about the mascot and university logo, I was reminded about the reality of Native American mascots on college campuses and in professional sports in this country. When I asked if there were any thoughts to change the mascot, I was told that the students and university did not receive pushback because they have an agreement with the Seminole tribe. After doing some research on the topic for a paper in Terrys History class, I definitely look at this issue through a different lens. Even though a universitys relationship with a specific tribe may be positive, it is often hard to control the way fans use the tribes name in a derogatory way. While I was at FSU, I didnt bring up the topic with other professionals, but it definitely made me think about how this issue would play into my choice of where I choose to work after graduate school.