Water Leadership by Kelsey Saylor, 2023 Cohort

Ever since I was a little girl, the water is something that has always inspired me. My entire life has revolved around various bodies of water that have shaped who I am today. When I was young, my family would go to Topsail Island, NC and my cousins and I spent hours of our lives exploring the shores of the Atlantic. As I got older my family spent most of our time around lake Pymatuning in western Pennsylvania. My sister and I spent more time in the water than out, completely convinced we were mermaids. The water has become an integral part of my most treasured memories.

As I have grown older, I have also come to value leadership and the hard work and dedication needed to become a person worth following. Currently, I am a member of Army ROTC Battalion on campus and will be serving as the fall semester Battalion Commander. With this role comes a lot of responsibility, loyalty, diligence, and honesty. These four traits are ones that I have come to value when learning and exploring how to be an effective leader. 

When I look at my experience on the water -- and the future leader I want myself to be -- I see many correlations between the two. The predictability and constancy of water has taught me that these traits – among others -- are necessary in a leader. Water has existed for billions of years, and we always trust that it will remain long after we are gone. That irreplaceable trust in water is what a leader hopes to inspire in those around them. In my future career, I want my soldiers to know that I have their back and that I will be as constant as water in my decision-making. 

Within my experience as a River Steward at the University of Dayton I have learned a lot about myself, my cohort, and the water that shapes us. As a leader it is important to find things that bind a group together. Water is a perfect example of something that has the capability to bind and create deep and unyielding bonds. Everyone has a connection to the water; it is up the to leader to explore and expand upon them. The friendships I have created through River Stewards have strengthened my leadership ability ten-fold and I would not be who I am today without the organization.

Water and Leadership by Emma Allington, 2023 Cohort

 My experience with the Rivers Institute and water has helped me to bring more of myself to the table in roles of leadership. The most recent module of the Environmental Justice Academy (EJA) serves as an excellent example of this. Katie, another Stew, and I have assisted the steering team by planning and facilitating high-energy icebreakers to open the second day of the monthly modules.

This week’s activity was a Mad Libs about the academy, as the theme of the module was reflection. If you are not familiar with this game, basically you are given a list of parts of speech (ie noun, adjective, number) that you fill in without seeing the context, and then you insert them into a story. One of the participants asked me to explain what an interjection was, so, obviously, I started singing the song from Schoolhouse Rock and then gave some examples. As I walked back to the front of the room Katie jokingly said something around the lines of: “Are you sure you’re not an elementary school teacher?” referencing my high energy level and exaggerated body language.

Just so everyone knows, I am not an education major of any sort; I am, in fact, majoring in civil and environmental engineering. This technical side of my brain has defined my leadership style thus far (the group-chat-making, Google-Drive-loving, meeting-minutes-taking type), and I feel weird deviating from this box. As Leslie always reminds us Stews, I am trying to bring my full self to the table instead of compartmentalizing into a myriad of “hats,” but this has involved a lot of unlearning, mostly based on what I think is appropriate (the meticulous, note-taking Emma) and inappropriate (the playful, singing Emma) for important spaces like the Environmental Justice Academy. This dichotomy is obviously not true, as both the EJA participants and steering team give us glowing reports of how much they enjoy our hair-brained icebreakers. All of this to say: I am trying to take Leslie’s words to heart and bring myself (in all my meeting-minutes-loving, preschool-vibing glory) to the table.

I am feeling very reflective right now, so here is a poem reminiscent of my eighth-grade English class with Mrs. Marks:

Water is water

Even if it boils,

Like the stuff for my tea

While I burn midnight oil.

Water is water

Even if it freezes,

Although cold temperature

Often gives me the sneezes

Water is water

Even if it is glassy,

Suggesting a stroll 

Or a day full of relaxing.