My leadership roles and internships have taught me a lot about myself. Running operations for a chapter of more than 400 women in Pi Beta Phi, leading Marketing and Communications for Eller Ambassadors, working on the strategic communications team at Arizona Athletics, and so much more have all helped me better understand what I care about, how I work, and the kind of teammate and leader I want to be. But for the most part, I learned those lessons from my own point of view. This semester gave me something different: the chance to put my intentions side by side with the way other people actually experience working with me.
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Some of what I learned was reassuring, some surprised me, and some feedback was harder to hear. As I pursue a career in marketing, communications, and sports, I want to be known as someone who brings creativity, empathy, energy, and meaningful results to a team. I want people to feel confident depending on me while knowing that I genuinely value their contributions. Understanding my professional reputation has helped me recognize where I'm already building that image and where I need to be more intentional.
My Evolution
Learning who I am, how others see me, and who I want to become.
Communication style
01. Analytical in Thought, Expressive in Action
One of the biggest surprises from my assessments was realizing that the way I think about communication isn't necessarily the way others experience it. My Self-Perception Inventory identified my attitudinal communication style as Analytical, while my Professional Reputation Survey classified my average observed behavioral style as Expressive, with proactivity and reactivity scores of 3.80 and 5.40. At first, these results seemed contradictory. I've always considered myself someone who likes structure, preparation, and understanding the details before making decisions. I see this in my work with Arizona Athletics, where I independently create football media flip cards for every home game. Researching rosters, verifying information, and organizing materials for broadcasters requires me to be careful and thorough. I don't like handing something over unless I know I've done my best to make it accurate. But that isn't necessarily the side of me that people notice first. I also love working with others, sharing ideas, and bringing energy to whatever I'm involved in. One PRS respondent even mentioned that I might seem quiet initially, but become much more talkative and outgoing once people get to know me. I've come to realize that my assessments aren't necessarily describing two different people. My SPI reflects how I understand my own approach, while my PRS reflects how others observe my behavior. I can be analytical in how I prepare for a responsibility and expressive in how I connect with people while carrying it out.
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My presentation feedback reinforced another important part of this lesson. My instructor recognized my confident eye contact, energy, and ability to connect personally with the audience, but also encouraged me to slow down at certain moments and be more intentional with my movements. Seeing the comment, "Improved section from your last presentation!" meant a lot, especially because a teammate also recognized improvement in my speaking speed. For my future career, I see this combination as a strength. Marketing, sports communications, and corporate partnerships require thoughtful preparation and the ability to build relationships. I want to continue developing both, while becoming more comfortable sharing my ideas and personality earlier in new professional settings.
My Self-Perception Inventory places me in the Analytical communication style, while my Professional Reputation Survey places my average observed behavior in the Expressive category. Although I see myself as someone who values preparation and structure, others often experience my more outgoing and collaborative side. Both perspectives help explain how I approach professional relationships.
Core Values
02. Driven by Results, Grounded by People
When I completed my Self-Perception Inventory, I chose seven words that I felt described me: empathetic, driven, social, involved, outgoing, competitive, and adventurous. What stood out to me was that all seven also appeared in my Professional Reputation Survey. Seeing that overlap was reassuring because it showed me that the qualities I value in myself are also recognizable to the people around me.
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Of those seven, four especially reflect how I approach my responsibilities: driven, empathetic, involved, and competitive. I've always set high expectations for myself and taken pride in producing work that makes a difference. My competitive side pushes me to keep improving, while being involved means showing up and contributing rather than waiting for opportunities to come to me. But as much as I care about results, I also believe that how you treat people along the way matters. I've experienced this firsthand as Vice President of Operations for Pi Beta Phi. When reviewing attendance excuses or enforcing chapter policies, I sometimes have to make decisions that members may not agree with. I've learned that I can uphold the same expectations for everyone while still listening to individual circumstances and treating people with empathy. Being fair doesn't always mean giving someone the answer they want, but it does mean taking the time to understand their perspective. I also see these values in my work with Arizona Athletics. Creating football media flip cards for broadcasters requires accuracy, preparation, and attention to detail. Knowing others rely on my work motivates me to produce something I'm proud of. My PRS reviewers reinforced this side of me by describing me as hardworking, leaderlike, and a problem-solver.
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These results have helped me recognize that my professional reputation reflects both my drive to accomplish things and my commitment to the people around me. As I pursue opportunities in marketing, communications, and sports, I want to continue building a reputation as someone who follows through, produces meaningful results, and makes others feel respected and supported.
What Others See in Me
Orange: Shared SPI and PRS qualities.
Navy: Additional qualities identified by reviewers.
Communication style
03. Learning When to Lead and When to Step Back
One of the most valuable lessons from this semester was recognizing that being a strong individual contributor doesn't automatically mean I'm doing everything I can to help a team succeed.
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My three rounds of 360° evaluations consistently recognized my work ethic, reliability, and ability to create a positive team environment. In Round 1, I received a perfect 100/100 for contributing to a positive team environment, followed by 92 and 95 in Rounds 2 and 3. All three scores were above the respective team averages, which was encouraging because I want my teammates to feel supported and enjoy working with me. However, the evaluations also revealed areas where I need to grow. My score for holding teammates accountable decreased from 3.5/4 in Round 1 to 2.0/4 in both later rounds. My final evaluation also showed room for improvement in active listening, where I received a 2.5/4 compared with the team average of 2.88. These results were harder to see because I genuinely care about being a good communicator and leader. They helped me understand that being supportive isn't always enough. Sometimes being a strong teammate means addressing concerns directly, asking more questions, and slowing down to consider other perspectives.
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My PRS feedback reinforced this lesson. One respondent encouraged me to delegate more, while another suggested that I sometimes spread myself too thin. I can relate this to my role as Vice President of Operations for Pi Beta Phi. When our chapter president was unavailable for a meeting, and I also had a conflicting professional commitment, I helped coordinate coverage, shared the meeting script, and prepared other executive members to facilitate. That experience reminded me that I don't need to handle every responsibility personally for things to run smoothly. As I pursue a career in marketing and sports communications, I want to become a leader who takes initiative while helping the entire team succeed. Moving forward, I'm working on communicating expectations earlier, listening more intentionally, and trusting others with responsibilities rather than automatically taking everything on myself.
The Professional I'm Becoming
Through this semester's feedback, I've gained a clearer understanding of the professional I want to become. I want to be known as someone who is driven, dependable, approachable, and capable of delivering strong results while making others feel valued. My assessments showed me that I've already started building that reputation, but they also revealed areas where my actions don't always match my intentions. In particular, I want to become more comfortable holding others accountable, listening before jumping into solutions, and sharing responsibilities instead of taking everything on myself.
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I've identified four ways I plan to turn these lessons into action, which are seen below:
As I pursue opportunities in marketing, communications, and the sports and entertainment industries, I want to demonstrate these qualities through my work and the relationships I build. My portfolio, internships, and professional experiences show employers that I can combine creativity, strong communication, and a results-oriented mindset with genuine respect for the people around me. Looking back, this semester reminded me that having good intentions isn't always enough. What matters is understanding how others experience working with me and being willing to grow from that feedback. I'm proud of the reputation I've started building, but I know there's still more to learn. Ultimately, I want to be remembered not only for the results I achieve, but also for the way I achieve them.