Clara Posner, Bioengineering

Why did you choose to participate in the Leadership & Teamwork Certificate Program? What skills were you aiming to strengthen and why?

I chose to participate in the Leadership and Teamwork Certificate Program because I plan to become a leader in the biotechnology industry in the future, so I am continually developing my leadership, project management, and teamwork skills to prepare.

Describe your experience in the Leadership & Teamwork Certificate Program (ie. what you have learned, the progress you made, and how it helped you).

I learned about my communication and leadership styles and how to work with others with different styles than my own. I also gained experience in interdisciplinary communication by working with my classmates from different fields/departments. I also learned project management fundamentals such as work break down structures and Gantt charts and applied them in the group projects. I now apply these lessons as an officer in the Bioengineering Graduate Society (BEGS) and a graduate student researcher in the Jin Zhang lab.

What was your favorite part of the Leadership & Teamwork Certificate Program?

My favorite part was socializing with graduate students and post-docs from other disciplines and participating in the group activities in class applying the leadership theory.

What is something about the Leadership & Teamwork Certificate Program that challenged you or that was difficult?

Divvying up roles and managing responsibilities during the practicum project was the most difficult part of the program. Who should lead in a group of leaders and how should they lead? Can there be more than one leader? As we progressed on our project and discussed with each other, we were able to determine as a group how each of us would lead and contribute to the project.