CAS DEFENSE Megan Cockcroft

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Increased awareness of strengths and areas for growth;• Model United Nations

• Public speaking (weakness)• Research and personal global knowledge (strength)

• National Art Honor Society • Became aware of both artistic strong points, and leadership abilities• Discovered both positive and negative things about my patience

• Begin Again Farms• Working with horses was a weakness due to phobia• Horse knowledge was very weak at first

• LGBT+ Alliance• Leadership skills (weakness that became a strength)• Became more aware of my determination as a strength

Undertaking new challenges;

• Model United Nations• Public speaking was a huge challenge given my issues with anxiety• Acting was a new challenge for me• Learning the vocabulary and decorum of MUN was a challenge

• National Art Honor Society • Group projects, new media, new methods of design• Challenging myself to remain committed and productive Senior year

• Begin Again Farms• All the horse skills. There are many things to know about horses• Working on a farm after living practically indoors my entire life

• LGBT+ Alliance• Starting an organization from scratch• Running an organization with no prior experience

Planned and initiated activities;

• LGBT+ Alliance• The entire alliance depends on my planning and initiation of activities• This club would not have been started had I not gone through the process of

planning and establishing it

Working collaboratively with others;

• Model United Nations• Teamwork at the CSU event• The UN is meant to promote diplomacy and collaboration

between nations. MUN emulates this

• National Art Honor Society • Group projects, group projects, group projects• Collaboration on graphic design for Bed Race t-shirt

• Begin Again Farms• Teamwork and communication with almost all tasks,

especially building tasks

• LGBT+ Alliance• Collaborative project with Taylor Eide• Collaboration with a variety of teachers to get the project

rolling

Showing perseverance and commitment;• Model United Nations

• Attended most meetings, both mandatory and optional• Committed to remaining within the club (Didn’t drop out of HACMUN)• Forms turned in diligently

• National Art Honor Society • Actively involved for 2+ years• Attended multiple volunteer sessions for the sake of helping out

• Begin Again Farms• Worked 1.5 years + on the farm• Did not quit despite my distain for all things horsey…

• LGBT+ Alliance• Fought to find a sponsor for this club and have it approved• Diligently defended our right to advertise the club safely• Did not allow the threat of public backlash be a cause for quitting

Engaged with issues of global importance;• Model United Nations

• Global knowledge is a huge part of MUN• MUN really improved my ability to connect my knowledge together to view the world’s

bigger picture• Learning diplomatic decorum is a skill I hope will aid me in my own efforts to make the

world a better place

• National Art Honor Society • UNICEF project educated me on global issues with potable water

• LGBT+ Alliance• Discrimination against the LGBT+ Community is a huge issue impacting millions globally • By preventing discrimination within our own community, we prevent those ideals from

being passed down and continued in the future

Consideration of ethical implications;• Model United Nations

• Ethical decisions had to be made quickly during formal debate• Decisions on whether to go with the flow of things or stick to decorum must be made

• Begin Again Farms• The ethical weight of working with abused animals • Deciding on when to do certain jobs when balancing budget and the animal’s

wellbeing was challenging

• LGBT+ Alliance• Decisions had to be made between fighting for the cause and keeping the members

safe• Starting the club was an ethical decision in itself. Was the club worth possible

backlash?

Developing new skills;

• Model United Nations• Developed the ability to debate civilly• The ability to speak publicly• Research and resolution writing skills

• National Art Honor Society • A variety of new medias and project types utilized• Development of leadership skills and graphic design skills

• Begin Again Farms• Building, grooming, and animal handling

• LGBT+ Alliance• Club organization• Skills such as educating in an entertaining fashion, team building, and dealing with negative

backlash developed