About me and leadership...

Hi everyone!

My name is Jounghwa Shin, a senior at San Diego State University majoring in Hospitality and Tourism Management with an emphasis in meeting and events.  I will be graduating in August 2011.  I am originally from Seoul, Korea and majored in fashion design at my alma mater.  I worked for the Korea Marine Pollution Corporation, a government department, and also owned my own clothing store for a couple of years before coming to the United States to pursue a degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management.  I have many leadership qualities that have been developed through my many experiences.  I learned a lot about leadership while owning my own clothing store.  It was the most important leadership experience of my life because being an owner was completely different from my time as being an employee.  I was responsible for leading employees in all aspects of the business which included listening to employees for ideas and complaints, making sure there was a good and cooperative working environment, and also assigning responsibilities to employees based on their skills and temperament.  I believe that a good leader needs to have excellent communication skills and the ability to listen to what group members have to say.  It is imperative that a leader provides a good work environment so members and employees are motivated to work towards a common goal.  The ideal leader also needs to exude confidence and passion so that he/she can inspire other people.  Although I believe I have all the skills to be a good leader, I realize that my lack of communication skills in English makes it more difficult to be a leader in the United States.  However, I know that I make up for my speaking skills with a multitude of other skills and traits that makes a good leader.  I will continue to work on and develop the skills necessary to become a good leader.