Personal Introduction

My name is Haley Maples and I am from Pocahontas, a small rural town in southern Illinois. I did not grow up on a farm, but I was surrounded by thousands of acres of corn, soybeans and wheat. I developed a huge passion for agriculture at a young age, and I was determined to make it to the University of Illinois one day. Education has always been very important part of my life, I love to learn and immerse myself into new knowledge. After graduating high school, I received a scholarship to attend Kaskaskia College in the fall of 2014. I graduated in May 2016 with two associate degrees focused in science and arts. During my last semester at community college I was accepted into the college of ACES at the University of Illinois. I am currently a senior at the University of Illinois studying agriculture consumer economics and crop and soil management. As a transfer student I did not feel behind education wise but I did feel behind in respect to the amount of opportunities that the University has to offer. I began attending as many events on campus as I could. Early in the semester I received an email about a program called "LeaderShape." It was a week long leadership summit that would be held over winter break. I filled out the application, even though I had little leadership experience. I always felt like I took initiative and had certain leadership characteristics and this program seemed like a great place to learn and expand on my skills. I was accepted to attend LeaderShape, and I was so excited because I had heard such great things about it after I told people I had applied. This week long summit was truly life changing. I learned so much about myself, other cultures and leadership. The days were long and filled with tons of information, but it was information that will stick with me in my personal, professional and educational aspects of my life. Here, I clearly defined a set of core values that would help lead me through my leadership journey: Authenticity, Integrity, and Responsibility. I try to incorporate these three values while leading, to ensure that I have the right mindset and keep focused. Because I already had a major and a minor my class load was pretty intense, so I decided to pick up the Leadership Certificate instead of a leadership minor. I had three semesters to complete the certificate program and it was incredible flexible, which was exactly what I was looking for. The program has forced me to step out of my comfort zone by trying new things and meeting new people. The certificate program requires two leadership courses, attend two i-Programs, 10 hours of leadership programming, and two non-classroom team experiences. One of my main goals was to learn how to inspire and motivate others through my own unique set of leadership skills. This is something that I have been working on since I started the leadership program. By building a relationship with my teammates and peers, gaining trust, understanding their needs and wants, I have been able to lead others successfully. When you start off on the wrong foot or come across as overbearing, it can turn followers away and break trust. Evenutally, I would like to be in a management role, and the leadership skills and lessons that I have learned will help guide me successfully. There are more elaborate details about these leadership experiences throughout the website. These requirements gave a unique perspective about leadership, and it has inspired me to continue my leadership education after I graduate college.