Day Five: Living and Leading with Integrity. We took some time to write down our values on paper t-shirts, and hang them up on a laundry line. Mine were respect, passion and determination, and openness. As I walked around the room, I saw many I hadn’t considered, such as family, spirituality, inner harmony, consistency, and honesty. We were then challenged with different moral situations, and had to stand by Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, or Strongly Disagree, where everyone could see us. Things like “It is okay to tell on a friend who cheated on a test,� or “ I would exaggerate my organization’s accomplishments on a resume.� It was interesting to see how people changed when the questions went from “It is okay...� to “I would...�, making it personal. Many thought it was ok to tell on a cheater, but wouldn’t do it themselves.
We then got to take some time to talk with small groups about issues of today that bother us...my group discussed civic responsibility, particularly among young people. It was so refreshing to hear the educated and passionate opinions from students just like me. I never get the chance to really sit down and openly discuss these things...it’s almost impossible with friends in a college setting...it was an incredible opportunity.