Laughter and Gratitude—Participant and Mentor Reflect on Class Experience

by Emily Vigneri, MCLP Class of 2013 participant

Recently, my mentor, Carole, made a comment to me that I think of often—a comment about all of you, my MCLP classmates. I think about it when I get a little stressed with all of the commitments that all of us are juggling at the present moment. I think about it when I get a little insecure about my leadership capabilities and I definitely think about it when I find myself wanting to fight my own vulnerability—the very vulnerability that I now know is needed to be most impacted by what we’re learning from our program.

So, by now, you’re probably hoping that I eventually tell you what it is that my mentor said about all of you, so here I go. During dinner at the Leadership in Education session, my mentor was seated at a table with me and 4-5 other classmates. Throughout the meal, those seated at the table were actively engaged in conversation with each other, me, and Carole. There was also a good amount of happy yelling and teasing back and forth between our table and some of the other tables that the remainder of the MCLP class and guests occupied.

As we got up from the table that evening to return back in to the auditorium for the remainder of our evening session, Carole remarked to me what a great MCLP class we are. She stated that all of the teasing, laughing, and joking she witnessed was the sign of a wonderful group and that she was glad to see us having fun with one another.  Now, I admit—I am a Feeling type, so perhaps that accounts for some of this, but her comment absolutely touched my heart and I so wanted to share it with each of you.

Above all, her comment reminded me of how lucky I am to be in this program and how lucky I have been to meet each and every one of you. Although I may not have had the opportunity to speak at length with each of you, I hope you know how much I value your input in class and how happy I feel to be a member of the 2013 class with you! I also consider myself very lucky to have met all of the people that make MCLP possible for us.

As I said earlier, I have thought of this comment frequently (sometimes during times of a little stress) and it always helps me keep going. I hope that if you happen to find yourself in a moment of stress sometime soon, that Carole’s words bring a smile to your face, as they always do for me.