Lauren Figa

President for Challah for Hunger, Programming Chair for Cincinnati Hillel, Violin Teacher, Peer Leader at the Learning Commons, Kadima Advisor at Adath Israel

Throughout my time at UC, I've been involved in many organizations that have significantly contributed to developing my leadership skills. While I was a member of many organizations in high school and the beginning of college, I never served on the board or as a leader. Within the last year, I really wanted to explore what it meant to be a leader, and I wanted to become more involved in planning and programming within these organizations that I'm passionate about.

Taking part in the Roundtable experience has been monumental in further developing my skills as a leader. Previously, I felt confident about what it meant to be a leader, however, this experience taught me so much more. In conversations with other Roundtable participants, I've learned new and exciting ways to be a meaningful leader. Challah for Hunger is an organization that raises money to help fight food insecurity throughout Cincinnati and the nation. The chapter has only been at UC for two years, so being an effective leader is extremely important, so the organization can continue to grow. While I originally served on the executive board as the financial chair for a year, I was nominated to become the second president that the chapter has had. I was very excited for this role, however, I was nervous in guiding the other board members with enthusiasm and precision. Since having fundraisers and events are the primary events of the organization, it was important to be accurate and organized. At first, I was struggling with managing my time effectively, but participating in Roundtable was really helpful in taking on this role with confidence. I was given advice by other student leaders who gave me insight on their experiences as leaders. This was extremely helpful in learning how to be a meaningful leader. I learned the best ways to communicate with members, delegate tasks, and be productive while also staying engaged.

Overall, this experience was incredibly helpful, and I know the advice I learned will continue to be useful as a leader, and a member of the community once I graduate. In addition, I also learned about all that UC has to offer. Surprisingly, I was unaware of many resources that UC offers, and I plan to utilize these resources for the rest of my time at UC. Since I'm a peer leader, I'm excited to share these resources with incoming freshmen as I believe it will benefit them significantly.