Category: E & I

Traction Journal Post – Week Two – E5

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This week has now shown me that my life this quarter will be nowhere near easy. I was shocked at this realization. In my college experience (as a student two quarters away from graduating), I have NEVER felt so overwhelmed. I’m taking an 8:00 am class, I got to work from 10-1 pm every day that I can, I’m planning a music festival, I’m in a psychology lab which is taking an extra 5 hours out of my week, and my last two classes are heavily reading based and project-based. To summarize, I have so much to do and absolutely no time to do it. I may consider dropping my lab because that seems to be the only option.

Anyways, thank you for allowing me to vent about my current situation. Here’s a happy thing in my life. I have a wonderful kitty named Ritz. He really is the reason I get through my stress some days. He will always come to find me when I’m stressing and he’ll meow at me and sit on my chest. He does this super funny thing where he stretches his entire long body from his front paws on my chin to his tail all the way at my knees. It makes me LAUGH so much and releases so much tension in my body. I love him.

Q: What did you love this week?  What would you have loved to have achieved this week?

A: I loved my coaching meetings with Drew. He is such a wholesome and hilarious person. Our meetings last forever when you are in this class but we are a good team and are able to assess our team 4 & 5’s work with ease and intent. Honestly, meeting with Drew was so nice because he is a familiar face (we did our E2 project together) and it allowed for me to socialize with someone outside of my house. We really do both care about making sure the VP1 teams got as much help as we could provide thus being another reason we work well as a coaching team.

Q: Please share your personal experiences and the lessons you learned from completing VP1 this quarter? How may they help you have a successful and fulfilling VP2? How will you put that into action?

A: Holy cow did I learn a lot about how to help others direct their purpose and intent for a project as a coach. This really helped me ask myself deep thinking questions about my event. I want to see the weak points not just what is cool about my festival. A lot of the feedback I get is the upfront excitement folks have about the idea but I fail to receive input about people’s fears or dislikes. Drew helped me recognize that I need to use test cards and interviews with truer intent than I have in the past. I really need to gain certain information (needs and fears) from my consumer this quarter.

Q: What challenges are you facing? What’s Next?

A: I think the challenges I face are issues with scheduling. I need to really deep dive into my passions and purpose in the world. I feel at a loss which is so strange and something I haven’t ever experienced before. Seriously… I have always known my direction and feelings about everything. Now I am in a phase of my life (which is common in most psychosocial examinations of human development so I guess it’s natural to feel how I feel) where I am no longer focused on how I individually fit into my social spaces but instead am concerned with how I dynamically fit into the social world. It’s hard to have this whole perspective change. I have a feeling that it will pay especially since I am able to identify what’s happening in a logical way. Maybe what I need is chaos… who knows!

Traction Journal Post – Week One – E5

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Hello! I’m super excited to start working this quarter on my own projects and to hear about all the great ideas everyone else develops! I want to share my festival with you all. If you or anyone you know would like to be involved in the progress of the event or if there is another way you would like to engage, please reach out to me!

Q&A:

Q: What do you think of when you read our “Culture of Belonging” Statement? 

A: When I read the statement, I think of all the work each student in this class puts in. It reminds me that we are all given the chance to find our sparks and make something more of them than, for example, a simple hobby. I think of my own growth in the program from being a naive, extroverted, and nervous E1 to now being a confident, extroverted, and determined E5. It reminds me that we are all capable of fantastic things as long as we try.

Q: How are you preparing for success this quarter? What do you expect for the E-level journey this quarter?

A: I’m preparing for success by doing my own personal learning. Since I’m not in any business-related majors at WWU, it has been challenging to keep up with my peers who are constantly engaged in the material. I will be doing my own research at home to ensure I am equally as capable of success in the real world of entrepreneurship. A great idea is always a good start but there is so much more to starting a business than just an idea.

Q: How might you apply this week’s learnings to your venture?  

A: This week I worked with Drew to practice our coaching so that we can truly provide our VP1 teams with proper feedback and empowerment. He has been my teacher this week. He just took a branding class so during our meeting I was able to pick up a lot of useful information from him. Definitely helped me think outside of what I knew. I want to apply this to how I run my festival. I want to be a good leader through coaching my team. I need to openly listen to their ideas, help them see their own skill sets, and bring everyone together in a cohesive way. So far, this has been a big challenge for me since we are all online.

Q: What sparks do you have and how are they inspiring your work?

A: Great question! My sparks are finding ways to make people joyful, providing safety for those who feel lost, art (painting), big moving projects, psychology, and last is music. All of these are important for the festival I think. I need to find ways to create a safe place for our local community to feel joy again while they listen to music and engage with artists.

Q: What jumped out to you freshly this time with the tools (#above) How might you apply this week’s learnings to your venture?

A: I’m not really sure how to answer this question since most of what we learned this past week is all refreshers for me as an E5.

SHERWOOD MUSIC FESTIVAL – VP2 – Fall 2020

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Hello! This quarter was a crazy one for sure. Who knew how much progress could happen in an online environment. I did not expect to get as much traction on my venture as I did but I’m super thankful that I put in the time/effort that this event needed. I really do think it will be successful and will open a whole new area of exploration for a lot of people.

The Sherwood Music Festival is a one-day event that will launch in the spring of 2021. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been no live music in the state of Washington (at least no legal live music). However, I miss it dearly, and I know for a fact (evidence-based research) that others in my city miss it too. Live music brings us life and joy and hope and a place to escape. It gives us a place to branch out, meet people, and be expressive. Our community hasn’t had that which is why I decided I needed to find a way to make a covid safe music festival…. and the best part is… its working!

My next steps are to continue this event in the best way I can, find a venue (gosh this is a CHALLENGE), get more donations, and make sure that I am following all WA State laws.

Please visit our website at: https://sherwoodmusicfestival.weebly.com/ – You’ll find all the information on the progress of the event, a place to donate, and if you want to apply to participate in the event!

 

Final Traction Journal – Fall 2020 E4

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How did this quarter go for you? What did you love? What do you wish would have gone differently?

I think this was a GREAT quarter. I’ve gained a lot of experience working with all sorts of information and tons of leadership qualities since I started my project for the quarter. I definitely am getting nervous about my event since COVID-19 cases are growing but I do have some faith that we will figure out how to regain safety in the community. Hey, at least I’m trying. It’s new and scary but someone has to start the music world up again.

I honestly loved the days in class when we got to work with our E-level. We didnt get the chance to bond like other levels did during the E3 quarter. However, I still found moments when I got to connect this quarter. For example, Halanie had her event which was just me, her, and another E4 all went to Teddy bear cove. I got to talk to people I didnt think I’d ever talk to and we had s’mores.

Another thing I really love about this class is all the great ventures we get to hear about from the mentors who come to speak. I think they do a really good job of reminding us why we are in the program and how if you really love something then you’ll find a way to create with it.

I know this will be a lame response but I wish that this quarter was in person. I miss talking to everyone and the crazy energy that is always happening in our classroom. I feel bad the there are E-levels who wont get that experince. I didn’t realize I was going to miss that until the E6 presentation almost had me crying.

It was great having Nate and Sean in my team for traction journals this quarter! I hope you all have a good break and that we can connect again soon.

TRACTION JOURNAL – week nine E4

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What did you see that you loved at pitches this week?

I was super excited for pitch day this quarter to see how our E4 levels would design slide decks on their own. I loved to see all our styles show up and our prefered pitching types shine. I think that Kayla did a really cool pitch because she has a super cool idea for an indoor dog park. I loved seeing her doggo in the slides and seeing her vision so clearly. I also really liked hearing about all the projects because within the last week I’ve shared so many with my friends such as Seans and Saras!

What went well this quarter?

I think the progress I made throughout the quarter was good. I made a TON of traction but now I’m realizing there is still room to make more traction which is great because I think a lot of our projects run out of steam pretty quickly but this one will sure as hell not end until spring.

TRACTION JOURNAL – WEEK EIGHT E4

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Between now and Final Pitches, what traction steps do you need to make?

Good morning and happy early Thanksgiving! I don’t actually celebrate the normal way (my mom hates this holiday) but my family came up with our own tradition of ordering Chinese food and watching a movie. It’s pretty awesome.

I really don’t have much more traction needed between now and the final pitches. I pitch on Monday and I have my slide deck prepared, I have the energy for the pitch on deck, and I have an evidence locker full of reasons why my music festival should happen! I’m so stoked to do more after winter break. I’ve been chatting with a buddy of mine who does INSANE graphic design videos and we’ve been chatting about how he could create an easy visual aid video to represent how the event should play out.

Hope you’re all doing well this quarter!

TRACTION JOURNAL – WEEK SEVEN E4

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What did you love this week?  – I loved how relaxed this past week has been. If I’m being completely honest, this past week I did very minimal work because I needed a mental break from school. I took this week to sleep, do art, and spend time with my pet. It helped me a lot and I think I will feel much more motivated this next week. 

What resonated with you in workshops? – The workshops in the class were cool because they worked directly with us to help us improve our ventures. They walked me through new ways to prototype and engage with my audience. Since I have an event, I want to make a tiny little cardboard prototype to show to people to help them and myself really understand the event and the rules for covid. OOOOooooo IDEA!! What if I created a video explaining the event and the way it will work through the little interactive floor plan I want to make. Would that be cool? Or I could make an interactive online image where you click on things and then it tells you what happens in the area and how it will all unfold.

What did you learn in shift and share- what did you love, what would you have loved to see? – I loved to do shift and share this week! I think Healni and I did wonderfully. I also really liked Drew, Evarosa, and Saul’s presentation because we had to ideate branding so fast that it was a ridiculous amount of fun. I had a great time. 

Change Leadership – E4 – AASK for change

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E4: Challenge #4—AASK for Change 

Zosia Sherwood 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zosia-sherwood-6622171a1/ 

Previous CL: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kQOsXu6CiOUNiNPc615-uRl5SzLeaPUK?usp=sharing 

 

PART ONE: AASK FOR CHANGE APPRECIATIVE REFLECTION

Interview with Healanie: 

 

 

  • How would you describe your attitude toward the learning and practice of making change happen through entrepreneurship and innovation?  What are the implications for you? 

 

      • I think for the most part I’m pretty excited about it. I’m excited to be a changemaker, it makes me really excited. I love connecting with that. So, overall, the learning of it and connecting with passionate people through piggy backing energy is awesome. It can be hard because of all the personalities in the program but I love it and it’s fun. 
      • I don’t want to be told what to do unless I know how what I’m doing is making change and that I’m able to make a good life and have a good impact. I also don’t want to be someone’s “underling”. I want to be in charge of my life. 

 

  • Where are you currently feeling high levels of ability related to important changemaking skills?  Where are you feeling lower levels of abilities?  What are the implications for you? 

 

      • I think I am doing really well with facilitative leadership to take control and facilitate groups to make a cool offering. I can also explain and do deep dives for my promise which doesn’t always lead to good interviews but I can get people interested in it. I do hate sales. 
      • I don’t think I’m good at finding the gap. When I’m asked to create a project even if I’m passionate. I have no idea! I have a lot of problems with that and feeling so overwhelmed. I also struggle to connect to markets. The gap just isn’t immediately known to me. 
      • It means that once I’m going I can control the process but the first steps is when I need someone to stay with me and help me. I am not good at that beginning part. 

 

  • Where do you feel you have a high level of important knowledge related to changemaking through entrepreneurship and innovation?  Where do you have lower levels?  What are the implications to you? 

 

      • I have a lot of knowledge for the steps and the tools. I love the tool box! It really does organize. I know how to use those and dive deeper with those. I have those things to help me. I can’t always put them together in the most efficient way. Can I use a test card well? Not at all. 
      • Test cards haha. This makes me think “I don’t know what I don’t know”. I think I need more help on keeping an interview going. Especially when we leave my set of questions. How do I keep them interested? How do I get the information that I need and use it and then put it all together? 
      • It means I have to keep learning and I have a ways to go. I can get started and learn to fail. I need to realize that the point of this is to learn from failure. I get stuck in perfectionist mode. That’s not what it’s about and I appreciate that. It’s okay to say this idea had some things I learned and then throw it away. 

 

  • Where do you feel you can grow this quarter? Is it personal growth or more entrepreneurial business growth? 

 

      • I think it’s a little bit of both. By personal I mean using my connections and network as something to lean on. They can all be connected to me in different ways. Its been fun to make friends in this class. BUt yeah how do I use those for making a business and an event. Its all becoming connected. Thats what I want! It gets to evolve with you. 

 

  • What is your true north? How do you hope to achieve it? 

 

      • Mine is changing. Now its something along the lines of creating space for people to be happy, healthy and whole in the manner that they need at that time. Really diving into do I want to create business connections across the globe? Diving into creating an event for creating community! Anything that is people oriented. I want to help them be positive and move forward with themselves. I think bad situations drive us to be better and do better. 

 

  • What has been your favorite memory in the minor? Do you have a moment in the minor when you felt you truly met a goal you were passionate about? If not, how could you do this? 

 

      • My favorite would be when we were with seraphima in a room as E4’s when we were all talking about how we were all kinda dead and couldn’t think. We all shared space and time to say we were exhausted and others were there to ask how they could help. I ‘ve been feeling like these people are my people! I’m so excited to see where we all go! I would really love to have a moment like that in person. 
      • Since my true north has changed I think i’m moving towards what I want but I’m not there. I learned a lot in spring quarter for my true north. I’m growing towards it with every project. 

 

  • Where do you see yourself after graduation? How will you use the skills we’ve developed to help you?

 

    • My goal, if the world isnt on fire and dying, is to travel the world and spend time in a small town across the world to experience life in how others live it. I want to build connections and learn about community gaps. How can I connect solutions from one place to a gap in another? Realistically I’ll need to make money first and I have no connections outside of WWU so that’s scary. 

Reflection: I think the interview went really well. I was able to ask her all the questions that were important to me when I reflected on my journey this past year. I enjoyed learning about her past pathways and future pathways. I love Healani, she’s super motivated and I know she will accomplish awesome things. 

PART TWO: TEST AND DEEPEN YOUR CONNECTION IN THE BROADER COMMUNITY 

Activity #1: I’ve been doing work with Bellingham Community Meal Program to help them design a website. I started this over the summer but really was able to dive deeper into their goals through website design this quarter. I chose this activity because the non-profit represents something I really care about and it helped me build skills I need for my future. 

Activity #2: Activity #2: I went to see a speaker on 11/09/20 who was doing a talk on his research regarding black youth and “the talk”. The talk in this instance is not about sex. Instead this conversation is about racial socialization (ex. Explaining black history to your child or explaining to black youth that there is a high probability of them being shot by a police officer). His research was on how parents go about disussing this between each other, how they talk about it, why they talk about it and how often they talk about it with their kids. It was very engaging and relates to my psychology major.

PART THREE: WORKSHOP DESIGN  AND EXECUTION

 

In teams of two you will teach an elective workshop during one of the elective workshop times.  It can be done with one other person.  This needs to be pitched to the coaches in advance (Meg is the default person) to get the thumbs up and to get scheduled.  Use the storyboard template here.

BE SURE TO RECORD YOUR WORKSHOP and include recording in submission.

TRACTION JOURNAL – WEEK SIX – E4

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Holy crap did I make a ton of progress on my venture! Now that more is being done I am getting scared. But I’m sure we will figure it all out. If you have any financial advice, please let me know! I really enjoyed Tori and Amelia’s shift and share this past week. It was super helpful for me since all my event marketing is via social media. I definitely applied the information about hashtags and keeping a solid aesthetic to my event’s Instagram page. I think it will help people realize that I’m serious about this event and I want to make it happen! 

I’m excited that this venture is finally coming together and I am able to establish the beginning of what is needed. I can’t wait to carry through with this and bring everyone together during hard times.

TRACTION JOURNAL – E4 WEEK FIVE

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Good morning! Sorry, this one is so late! WWU sites were down all last week so now we are back! So far for my venture, I’ve reached out to a heck of a lot of people. That’s kinda what you have to do when you are trying to throw an event. Seraphia, Tara, and Aida have been awesome resources for understanding what is required of me and what steps I should take to make my event a success! I hope to talk to Meg this next week which will be super useful. 

I’m good on evidence and customer discovery. Right now my main focus is figuring out who should perform at the event (music-wise). We want to keep a consistent vibe which can be a big challenge. The other thing I’m trying to figure out is how to create the right environment for the event so that everyone feels comfortable. I also have a team together and we are each working on our own part of the project! 

I learned that it’s important to use coaching for helping others learn about their emotions. I think people really struggle to understand what’s behind their first reaction to things. They may have logic for it but I find there is a lack of knowledge of how they truly feel. I have applied this to my relationship with my boyfriend because he has a hard time talking about how he feels. So I do this with him and it helps. 

I’m not really sure that I learned anything this week from class that will help me with my venture.