Ashley Hoaglin - Leadership Iowa University

Ashley Hoaglin

Iowa State University

I am a student at Iowa State University. I am double majoring in psychology and criminal justice with a minor in anthropology. My long term goal is to earn a Ph.D. to become a counseling psychologist. I hope to work with military personnel, especially members returning from deployment.   I would also like to work with the families to help provide support systems. Deployments are very difficult to get through, and I believe that support systems provide people with the resources they need to maintain their strength. Other than school, I am a farm girl at heart. I grew up near a small town in Southeast Iowa on a farm. My dad harvests corn and beans every year, and I have helped him to some extent since I was young. I went to a small school where I knew everyone. It allowed me to be very involved and appreciate many different activities. I was very involved with the music program, I was in many extracurricular activities, and I was able to play sports. Besides being active in school, I spent a lot of time volunteering in the community, and I worked as a waitress at a small restaurant. When I was not doing these things, I spent time reading, playing piano, and spending time with my family shooting skeet, fishing, and hunting. It was because my dad took me to a Pheasant’s Forever Banquet, that I met my fiancé. We met when we were both sophomores, and he proposed this past March. He is a marine and is stationed in North Carolina. Due to him joining the marines, I was able to have my first flying experience when I attended his basic training graduation in San Diego, California, and then my second when I went to visit him in North Carolina. Because of this, I have found that I love going to the beach! Now that I am in in college, I have tried to become active with different organizations. I have been selected as a Dance Marathon committee member, joined Alpha Phi Omega Service Fraternity, become active in my house, found a psychology lab to work in, and I am currently looking for a volunteer position to work with military families in some form this year. I am very excited for what is in the future, and I greatly look forward to it.

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YPIowa Conference: The Importance of Self-Development

Posted on Oct 10, 2011 at 4:11 PM

Most people are always taught how to do certain tasks in life. For example, when a person starts a new job, the trainer goes through and teaches the correct way to perform each task.  How many people focus on reminding a person to develop as a person, though? In my experience, I have been in many situations where I am told, “This is how to do this.” These situations never end up satisfying me completely. I do not normally feel as if I am performing at my best level in these situations. It is not just about the task, though. Personal development, as it was stressed to us last Friday, is an ongoing process. You do not reach full potential in a minute. There is always something personal each and everyone can be working on. 

Even though all of these points are things I have heard before, I had never really thought about the idea that personal development is something I need to work on weekly. I know there is always room for improvement, but the idea of setting time apart every week to work on it was foreign to me. The more I think about and contemplate the idea, the more it makes perfect sense. There are certain things I do each week that are for me. The reason I consider them “for me” is because they help me grow as a person. They do not help me do my homework better necessarily. They do not help me get my homework done quicker on the weekends, but they do bring me a certain level of satisfaction or contentment. Taking that extra time each week to focus on your own personal development allows for greater performance in many areas of your life and not just one. 
 
Beyond the basics of not taking personal development for granted, the YPIowa Conference taught me many other things.  We were able to go and see the beautiful city of Sioux City. I had the opportunity to learn about the city and what was being done to improve it as a whole. I was able to visit the Orpheum Theater, view its incredible interior, and hear what the city did to help restore the theater into one of the top 10 in the country. We heard about their plans to improve certain areas of the city, to add parks, to keep adding art, and to make it more interesting in general to draw more of a crowd. The city is doing an incredible amount of work to make the city a worthwhile place to come, visit, live, raise a family, and many other of the important aspects of having a life and a family. Beyond the city tour, I was able to hear another incredible speaker, Matt Mattson.
 
Matt spoke on ways to become a better networker, but I think his ideas applied more in life than just in networking. The idea of being a sincere person when you first meet someone can go a long way no matter who you are meeting. The talks about different types of conversation made me question what I talk about with other people when I meet them and people I already know. Conversations can leave a lasting impact on a person, or they can be another one in the sea of lost conversations.
 
All of the things I heard and learned about that day have left me thinking about things in my own life. The ideas all play an important part in my daily life. Each of these thoughts has left me thinking and planning for ways to truly apply them in areas in my life that need them. It was a reminder that no matter how busy I am, it is important for me to remember me. I greatly appreciated everything I learned or was reminded of at the YPIowa conference.

 

A Future In Iowa

Posted on Aug 15, 2011 at 9:34 AM

My experience with Leadership Iowa University was more than I ever expected or could have ever hoped for. I had opportunities set before me that I am not sure I would have found anywhere else. I had the opportunity to meet business people from the state of Iowa, speak with them on a personal level, and hear their individual story. I had the chance to learn about many Iowa businesses, how they were started, and why they are here in the state. I heard the wonderful advantages of being in the state of Iowa. Some of these things included information I have heard before, but it was presented in a new fashion. I was able to hear the information on a very personal level. 

Leadership Iowa University was unlike any conference I have ever heard of before. When I think of a conference, I automatically picture sitting through lots of presentations and never leaving the original building. I do not picture touring many local businesses, speaking to businessmen or state representatives at a roundtable. I do not picture being able to walk up to these people and ask whatever questions I have floating around in my mind. Leadership Iowa University gave me these opportunities. I was able to make some connections that could possibly lead to a future job. I was able to find out what my future interviewers are looking for when they sit down with a potential employee. I had the chance to find out the way to find available job positions. I had the importance of networking and blogging reinforced. All of these things add to my knowledge on how to prepare for the real world and find my dream job.
 
I was able to take away many applications from this conference that I hope to apply to my life very soon. The first thing I took away is the importance of blogging. Blogging gets your name on the internet in a fashion you design. It gives potential employers a place they can look to learn more about you and what you stand for. Due to what I learned about blogging, I plan to start my own blog within this next week. I feel that it will open many other doors for me.
 
The second thing I was able to take from this was the importance of networking. I have heard the term networking before and knew what it was. What I didn’t completely understand was how to do it and why. I learned that first of all, networking is not just for my own personal advantage. When I am networking, part of it is connecting people I know. It does not have to benefit me directly for it to be important. I need to try and help people find other people who can help them out, also. I do need to continue to network for myself though. I was once again told about the fact that most jobs are never posted. In order to get these jobs, there must be people that know I would make a good employee that are willing to suggest my name to these future employers. This is part of what makes networking an important aspect of my career.
 
Something else I was able to take away from the conference was the importance of having an open mind. Adam Carroll told us, “You are not your major.”  This is such an important statement to understand. Even though I graduate with a specific degree does not mean I cannot explore other job opportunities. He pointed out to us that as long as we are willing, we can trying out new things constantly. The other thing was that we needed to have an open mind. We were told that no matter what we think, our future is not set right now. We can change our mind any time, and honestly, the more open we are to it the better. If we are open to a field of possibilities for our future, we allow more opportunities to make themselves clear to us. It gives us a chance to consider possible paths rather than only look one direction. Having an open mind just opens many more doors to the future for us.
 
This past week, I was able to gain a new viewpoint on a lot of aspects of my life. I think I will take the lessons I learned this week and carry them throughout my life. I also believe that the lessons I have learned have helped prepare me even more for the business world. I feel that I now contain important knowledge to make my transition from school to my career more readily. I am very grateful for my recent experiences and cannot wait to apply them fully.

 

College of Agriculture and Innovation

Posted on Aug 11, 2011 at 11:45 AM

Growing up on a small farm in Iowa, agriculture has always been a huge part of my life. My father farmed and that affected a large part of our lives. I learned that the simple things in life make a huge difference for my dad. Weather was something I learned to pay attention to because it made a huge difference in how the crops were which in turn made a difference in yield.  This all led to how he would do for the year in revenue and costs. Farming has major ups and downs in a year. I was able to see close up how things were affected. I also learned that when the fields were ready, my dad had to be ready. Today we were told that something we needed to understand about running a business was that when an emergency came up, the owner had to be there. Farming is the exact same way. When something went wrong, when it was time to plant, when the corn was dry and ready to plant, that is where my dad had to be. He would do his best not to miss important events in our lives, but we accepted that this was part of our lives. Farmers have a responsibility to their ground and crops that has to be respected.

I believe that agriculture will always impact everyone’s lives whether directly or indirectly. I do hope to raise my family in Iowa one day, and I think agriculture will still be a part of my life. When you live in a state that has a good portion of farmers, everyone can feel the affect. When the crops are in a bad year, you see farmers cut back on their spending. This can affect all the businesses in the community because there is not the extra money to be spent. The lack of business will cause the small businesses to hurt for income which will affect their suppliers. Agriculture is a basis that affects everyone.
 
A good affect is that I believe that agriculture can help lead the way to a better tomorrow. I may not be directly involved with this, but I do know there is a large portion of people working on ways to improve farming and uses of farm products. Researchers are finding better ways to produce more in a smaller area, they are finding new uses or betters uses for the products, and they are trying to better each product individually. I think all of these changes will help the world in the long run. I would love to become involved with an organization that works to help prevent hunger and starvation locally, nationally, and internationally. The improvement of crop yield will be a step to helping lower the starvation and malnutrition rates. The population as a whole is running out of oil, and the use of crops to help produce fuel will benefit all who drive. These changes could change everyone’s life in one way or another.
 
I am excited to see how agriculture changes in the next 10 years, 20 years, and 50 years. It has already changed tremendously in the 20 years I have been alive. I do not believe I will play a direct part in the change of agriculture, but I definitely think I will be somewhere that I can see it and be affected by it.

 

Land of Opportunity

Posted on Aug 10, 2011 at 11:04 AM

Iowa offers an endless amount of opportunities for any one person or group. Iowa has the important features needed to be a successful business person and a successful family person. Iowa has is many opportunities, but it does also have some downfalls. I do believe that these downfalls can be worked on and improved upon if the correct people are combined to work together on them. Iowa is a state that offers hope, and I believe that is essential to succeeding.

I have considered opening my own business for a couple years now. I have two that I have thought about regularly, and they are very different from each other. I have always dreamed of opening my own bookstore/coffee shop and owning my own counseling business. Both of these are things that I greatly enjoy and want to include in my life. I know that Iowa offers the atmosphere needed to start both of these businesses. I know that there are people I can speak to that will offer me advice and assistance to get these businesses up and running. I also know that there are people that would be willing to support these businesses. Starting a successful business in Iowa is a definite possibility.
 
There are a few issues in Iowa that might be a hindrance to me desiring to stay in Iowa, but they are also issues I feel I could help work on. I have several expectations of Iowa that I have gotten used to growing up, that I would like to see be available wherever I live. There are other things that I grew up with that I would love to see change. I have always loved the sense of community you feel in Iowa, but I am also aware of the fact that there is a rift between different communities. As much as a community will support other people within the community, it doesn’t always want to help outside the community. I went to a school that had students from three towns and all the country kids in between those towns. Something I grew up with was the fact that depending on what town you were “associated” with due to where you live made a difference in how you were accepted. We considered it small town politics. I know this is something that can be overcome because all of us can show that we have something to offer other people. It is not all about your name or location. I would love to see communities helping one another and recognizing what each has to offer. I think this is definitely possible as long as members are willing to reach out to other communities and come together.
 
Something else I grew up with that I would like to see change is the school system. The school I attended was very set in their ways. I would love to see schools that are willing to try something new. When there is a small rural school, sometimes sharing something with a neighboring school district can offer a major advantage to both schools. Online classes can offer students a major advance in their education that would help prepare them for college possibly, but it would definitely offer them more of a selection. New technology could open more doors for students to learn beyond the classroom. All of these things are achievable, but there has to be community support and willingness to change and try new things. People cannot go in with the attitude that something will fail.
 
I feel that this willingness to try something new is a quality that makes it possible for businesses to grow and succeed. I think that it is something that people are trying to switch to and the more that do, the better Iowa will be. We were told today not to get set in our ways. We were told to keep open minds about things because new things are coming out every day. I think this is a great piece of advice because it is completely true. Who knows what tomorrow will bring? The world is a great place that changes every day. It is always offering new possibilities for tomorrow, and Iowa is right in the middle of this. Why not take a risk and go for it?

 

"UnEARTHing Iowa"

Posted on Aug 9, 2011 at 6:03 PM

There were two major things that I saw today that I would love to see in the community that I choose to live in when I settle down with my family. When we visited the capitol and spoke to Rep. Scott Raecker, something I really appreciated about speaking with him was the fact that he was a real, ordinary citizen trying to help everyone out. Then when we visited Pella, I noticed that the businesses of the community were trying to help other people in the community. They were not just there for themselves, they were trying to better the community as a whole in any way possible. 

I have always loved Iowa, and I would be extremely happy to settle down and raise my family in Iowa. I may move away for a few years, but in the end, I would love to stay here. This is where I grew up, and I know Iowa has a lot to offer. That was another major point that was constantly being stressed to me today, is the fact that Iowa is just looking for growth and just needs someone to initiate the process. Iowa offers the possibility to start something new, and it has people that are willing to support the new businesses. Iowa is all about community in my experience, and wherever I decide to live I really want that to be a big part of the area. I want people to care about the community and about each other. I want the people to be excited about where they live and appreciate what they have. I want to be able to start something new, whether it is a vacation bible school program, a little league team, a volunteer group, or even a new business, and have people that want to help out and get involved. But I also want people who are true to themselves and are real people. I want them to truly care and not just do it because it looks good. I grew up in a place where I knew there were people I could rely on just because they really did care about me and about my family. As I got older, I knew I could count on businesses for their support because they also wanted to see the community flourish and not just their own business. This is the sort of life I want when I settle down. I want a community that simply cares about each other and is excited to live in Iowa!

 

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