The process of building a foundation for SOAR and launching the initiative has been deeply transformative to my journey as a leader. I have learned a great deal about best practices for incorporating leadership competencies strategically. In my role as an executive director, I have also been able to identify areas for growth. The Socially Responsible Leadership Survey is helpful because it provides an objective way of quantifying my advancement in different components of leadership. I will be focusing mainly on May 2023- April 2024. This is because I received the Lead Forward Grant for the first time in May 2023, and April 2024 marks almost a full calendar year in my experience as a Lead Forward Fellow. I noticed significant improvement in Controversy with Civility. I increased by almost a full point on a 1-5 point scale. This ties into the leadership competencies I used more this year. I worked on active listening by asking members for feedback on each Lafayette Mentors visit and making them partners in building new activities. I gained valuable experience in conflict negotiation. Having difficult conversations is important because it creates space for transparency and boundaries. I am glad that I was able to provide more support to those who needed it, but I also wanted to ensure my voice was heard. Mary Parker Follett discussed the integrated solution approach, and I have adopted it in navigating such situations. I appreciated the scholastic aspect of the Lead Forward Fellowship, because it provided me with resources such as Follett’s approach to dealing with conflict. Another area I showed a bump upwards in is collaboration. I worked on this competency through conversations with my Impact Mentor and community partners. I also advocated for a point of view when sharing my vision with community partners and JMHC students for recruitment purposes. The heart of SOAR is service, and my visits to Lafayette Mentors inspired me to develop even more engaging activities for the kids. Finally, I feel that SOAR is on the path to creating change. I created the backbone of SOAR: our name and its meaning, our mission, and our motto. These are all symbols of what we strive towards, and it has provided our members with a tangible concept of what they can achieve as leaders.