I have actually learned about the Academy of Leaders program from my first semester when looking at the FIU Online announcements to apply for it. Since it was a free and self-paced course, I didn't think of a better reason to at least try it out which more people should considering that these skills apply for any major or career. When taking the course, it was worthwhile taking the time to write to reflect not only on what has been learned but also reflecting on oneself for example with goals, plans, certain actions to take. So I also thought that it was a great opportunity to have the credibility like with the certificate of taking the course as well as reevaluating oneself as a leader which is like a win-win.
The other good part was also having access to the book at the library online for reference. Reading about it reminded me of when my previous school talked about 7 Habits for Highly Effective Teens/People, which was also a nice book to look into.
At the Human Trafficking Convening, which took place in the University of Miami campus, there were speakers and sponsors of the event including The Women's Fund, International Human Trafficking Institute (IHTI) and human trafficking survivors. In the morning, there were also presenters who introduced the topic and what it entailed such as the types of trafficking, more common with labor and sex and many of the victims in Third World countries although a lot include those in the U.S. as well. Florida has also been stated to have a high rating in human trafficking or particularly in the Miami-Dade County area. Also there were discussions of campus culture, labor in restaurants, and shelters founded to provide a place for victims. Only recently did people realize they were victims, as in the past police would accuse them as prostitutes and put them to jail, not knowing there were traffickers behind the scheme. There were video clips telling stories of some who had fallen into trafficking, with common backgrounds such as abusive parents, poor neighborhoods, low self-esteems and at age ranges as young as 12-17 years old. This type of group are the most vulnerable, and many of the incidents start with a human trafficker who owns expensive things and convinces the victims that they can help accomplish their dreams or help them travel back home if their in a foreign country. In the end, traffickers treat victims as property, meaning slavery still occurs today. In the afternoon, there were three campaigns that students had to join so I decided on the Students Against Cyber-Trafficking Campaign. Cyber trafficking is basically where traffickers search for victims through dark or low key webs and often look for young children. During this time, we introduced ourselves in the group, talked about the essence of the campaign and later on share ideas among everyone else in the covening. Moreover, because of this being a campaign, they encouraged students to proceed these actions forward in their schools such as conducting meetings, forming clubs based on Human Trafficking, and bringing awareness to more people. For instance, students who went to the covening reformed the club formerly known as Not For Sale.
