USF CLCE Podcast

Leaving a Legacy

[R] = Ryan

[A] = Aspen

[R]:

Hello everyone and welcome back to yet another session of the CLCE podcast. I am Ryan Newton, Graduate Assistant at the Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement as you know if you’ve been listening to these podcasts for past couple of months. I have with me one of my coworkers today Aspen T.

[A]:

Hello guys. My name is Aspen T like Ryan said and I am also a Graduate Assistant here at the Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement.

[R]:

And you know we’re coming up here it’s the middle of October and it’s just about Homecoming week! And so, we thought it’d be fitting to talk about Homecoming and how that impacts us as student leaders on the campus and you know one thing I’ve always thought was fascinating about Homecoming Week is its ability to attract alumni. People come in, they come back for football games, are excited, they’re ramped up, but one of the benefits of them coming back is for them to be able to see the things that have changed, the things that are different, and maybe improved since they’ve been here. And the only reason that we’re able to celebrate those things is because those individuals those people who were here before us left a legacy. They left a mark on this campus and they made the changes that we are enjoying the benefits of here today. So we definitely want to talk a little bit about leaving a legacy and making your mark at USF.

[A]:

Yeah and I think, a concept to try and wrap your mind around with that, something that really resonates with myself and I believe Ryan as well is the idea of building the clock and what I mean when I say that is if you take a village and there is a time keeper in the village, someone that has the watch, and everybody has to go to that person in order to tell the time. Well, if that person leaves then the village is lost, there is no, there is no time anymore. However, if the time keeper takes the time to build a clock and builds something that can always be relied on even after that person has left that keeps the sustainability of the village. That keeps the time going.

[R]:

And it is! It’s fitting that we chose this topic you know we did choose October for this topic because of homecoming, but there are other things going on in your lives as student leaders right now that definitely have their impact and have its relevance in leaving a legacy and that includes officer transitions. Things as simple as: “Who is going to come into position after you and how are you going to make sure that person is successful?” , you can look at your schoolwork ; What are you going to do to make sure you’re successful now, but not only now, how are you going to set yourself up for success in the future?” And so this is the concept of futuristic vision, if you will, but also being able to, to make it easier for those who come after you. It’s a benefit for you personally and for those who will come after you.

[A]:

And it is, it looks to who do you empower to keep your vision alive on this campus? , who can you pass along the information to that’s going to sustain your views. So you can go off and you know build those clocks on other, in other areas around the nation, around the globe. You know, but keep that idea alive here at USF and keep it going.

[R]:

And so we’ve talked a little bit about it, but Aspen, what kind of things do you thinks students could be doing to build the clocks, or to, to leave a legacy on this campus?

[A]:

Well, like we discussed the biggest thing is transition; really being sure that the people under you buy into your concept, know, know what your vision and know how, what hand they can play in keeping that here. You have to have support and you have to have to some degree empowerment too of those that, that may be younger; that they can carry on this, this idea that you have. That it’s, and recognizing that what you’re doing is bigger than yourself.

[R]:

It can be really intimidating to come into a situation where you don’t necessarily feel like you have all the information, or you don’t feel like you can be successful and so for someone who came before you to enable you to be successful and say “here is everything you need to, to do it well,” That’s something that’s truly, truly powerful and really makes the most successful leaders, successful! It helps them do what they do. I try to think of people in, in our lives, or in history that have done this really well, and the first person that I think of every time is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He painted this picture of equality and acceptance for everyone in this country and although he might not have been building a bridge at that moment, or building a clock at that moment, what he did was make life easier, or at least he opened the door to making life easier for the people who were to come after him. And although he may not have seen the fruits of his labor, he worked his tail off to make sure that whatever he did he left a legacy behind him that would carry on his name for years and years to come.

[A]:

I think that’s a great point because sometimes you have to realize that what you may be doing isn’t an instant results type situation. It may not be that you’re going to leave this campus seeing what your vision was. And that’s where you have to really work to be sure that you’ve left tools behind for it to be carried out. So you can come back as a USF alumnus, years from now, and see your vision in full effect on this campus.

[R]:

That’s absolutely the truth. So, with that we want to just wrap up and thank Aspen for coming on the podcast this week. We hope you gained something out of it, learned a little something, something maybe. And, we, we want to challenge you! What’s your legacy going to be at USF? What are you going to do to leave a legacy and make a mark here? So, think about that and challenge yourself to find your niche and leave a legacy at USF. We hope you’ll tune in next week and we hope you enjoyed this week’s podcast about leaving a legacy and Go Bulls!

[A]:

Go Bulls!