March 30, 2022 dausa1
Meghan O’Neill

Hawk Communications: Becoming a Leader

By Meghan O’Neill 

In the beginning of this semester, I was not planning on sticking with Hawk Communications. I took it in the Spring of 2021, but I am happy I decided to stay with this class in the Fall of 2021. 

Growing up, being a leader was a struggle. I did not think I was able to show leadership. Taking Hawk Communications helped me grow as a leader this semester in the role I fulfilled with my client, The Monarchs. As the group leader for The Monarchs, I did not expect this role to help with my outlook on leading outside of this course. 

As a group leader for The Monarchs and as part of the Social Media team was a bit scary. I didn’t know what to expect and I did not want to let down my team and my client. When speaking with my team they asked me to be the group leader, I froze. I was not sure if I could handle this role, so I was tempted to hand it off because I was not sure I could live up to the expectations. I am so happy I stuck with it and didn’t give up because it gave me the chance to be a leader.

I have had smaller leadership roles before in my life as a college student, but nothing close to what I had in store for The Monarchs. This opportunity helped me break out of my shell and made me explore more than just writing papers and emails. It also helped me become a better person. Being a leader helped me branch out and talk to the client and become someone they would remember later. As the semester went on, I knew I was up for the challenge of being the leader of the group. I wanted to make sure I was listening to my group in what they thought would be good and not just be the only one talking. I always struggled with being able to give tasks to others instead of doing it myself. As a leader, I managed to make sure all members were doing their part even if it was not in the social media group. I was able to talk to my client and my group members about many issues without feeling worried or nervous.

Going to practices for The Monarchs helped me notice what kind of group I am leading. Through the content that was created, we showed how much we cared for the kids and how they can have so much fun playing hockey. Our clients Brad, Phil, and Chris were depending on us and they trusted me to lead this group with our ideas, even if they did not seem like it always worked or the ideas were the best for what they needed right now. Still, they still believed we could handle the tasks and come up with new ways to promote the organization. 

I am so proud to say that I was able to lead such a great organization like The Monarchs. It helped me meet new people and branch out to talk to other people in the same field. Going into this class, I was not expecting it to change my outlook in client and internship work, but Hawk Communications pushed me to my limit to try to fulfill a leadership position and improve my communication skills. I would like to thank my classmates and Professor Green for trusting me to be able to thrive in this role.