Courtney Gilles

Self-Presentation Round

INTRODUCTION: There are 40,000 students here on this campus. We are also in
classes with many unfamiliar faces. Put these two together and this University can be
quite intimidating! Out of all these students, what do you do to make yourself stand out
and become a leader? I believe its all about having confidence. Being apart of the Illinois
Leadership Center has increased my confidence to lead. The Illinois Leadership Center
offers wonderful opportunities with such programs as Intersect and Ignite.

Transition: I’m going to talk about my favorite part about the Illinois Leadership Center.

1. Attending I-programs has definitely made me a better leader.

a. I-programs are five free leadership workshops that are available to every
student on campus: Insight, Intersect, Ignite, Imprint, and Integrity.
i. The first I-program that worked to increase my confidence to lead
was Intersect. Intersect is a half day workshop which focuses on
communication, building relationships, developing teams, and
creating a giant catapult!
1. Thanks to intersect, I was able to understand my own
listening style and improve my interpersonal
communication skills.
2. I worked on how to approach conflicts, how to better
understand others’ perspectives, and how each group
member has their own strengths that contribute to the
group..
3. In addition, I was encouraged to step outside my comfort
zone, forming relationships with students I had never met
before and practice taking initiative in group projects!
b. Another I-program is called Ignite
i. Ignite is a 3 day workshop in which I acted as a consultant with
organizations around the Champaign Urbana Community. The
organization I worked on was Always Illinois, a campus wide
social networking site.
1. Ignite helped me work on leading change-each project team
was dealing with real world issues and since the plans the
organization implemented were not currently working, it
was our job to challenge ourselves and find a new solution,
a solution that would not come without creativity and risk
taking!
2. Ignite also taught me about Project and Program
effectiveness. We had to combine and organize all of our
work and ideas into a PowerPoint show to which we had to
give a formal presentation to the head directors of the
organization!
Transition: As you can see
CONCLUSION: Attending these I-programs offered by the University has been
important for my personal development as a leader. Intersect and Ignite allowed me to
practice essential leadership skills, which in turn increased my confidence to lead in the
real world. There are 40,000 students on this campus. What will you do to stand out and
become a better leader?