First installment of article series called Alumni Perspectives.  The series is designed to help the UCD Community understand the long-term impacts of CLL programs.  UCD Alum, Alex Coffman '19, reflects on their time and learning in CLL Certificate Programs.  Alex also provides advice for current students on time management and making the most out of their college experience. 

Franchesca: Hi Alex! We really appreciate you taking the time out of your busy schedule to interview with us. Could you give us an introduction to who you are and what you do?

Alex: Yeah! My name is Alex. I graduated from UC Davis in 2019 and I studied electrical engineering. I was privileged enough to find the CLL early on as a sophomore, at a resource fair, and I went through a lot of the workshops and did all the certificate programs offered. I work for the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), and I work on a lot of weather and surveillance radar equipment. 
 

Wait, How Many Certificate Programs?

Franchesca: You mentioned that you completed all of the certificate programs. Could you walk us through the different programs?

Alex: Yeah, so when I was there, there were 3 programs: Diversity Leadership Development (DLDP), Student Leadership Development (SLDP), and Student Professional Development (SPDP). 

I think I liked DLDP the best, because I learned a lot about myself, working with other people, and understanding how diversity impacts interactions. 

I think one of the best projects for me was SLDP — which involved working with a group of students on campus to do a project. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that really taught me a lot about how projects happen in the real world. You’re paired with a group of people who you maybe don’t know super well to accomplish a goal, and learning to work together and come to a group consensus is really applicable to almost every job you do. 

SPDP involved getting an internship and applying what you learned in the workshops, and that was also a great experience. 

[Note: the CLL currently offers two certificate programs: Student Leadership Development Program (SLDP), and Cultivating Leaders for Social Change (what Alex refers to as DLDP).]
 

Why Does Social Development Matter?

Alex: DLDP made me more aware of different people’s backgrounds and how that affects the opportunities available to you. For example, people who are college-educated typically have more opportunities and can get better jobs, so if both your parents went to college, you’re more advantaged than someone whose parents may not have gone to college. That was insightful because it’s important to understand what assumptions you might have about everyone else that might not be true. 

Franchesca: That’s insightful to know, maybe especially for STEM-related careers such as engineering. I think we sometimes mistakenly believe that STEM jobs won’t involve as much interaction with people as, say, social work, and so they don’t need to really consider those social contexts. 

Alex: Yeah, I think there’s that perception that if you’re in social work, you’ll be interacting with people more often. That’s probably true, but I would say that’s mostly applicable to external interactions. Internally, I’m working with people every single day, having to communicate with others. Even when there’s no established group work, I have to work with other engineers to understand how to implement certain things, so it’s really important to be able to work well with others. That’s definitely something that will come up in the future. 

 

Managing Your Time

Franchesca: Absolutely. Going back to the certificates, I’m curious: what drove you to complete all three certificate programs?

Alex: I had heard about DLDP from Christie (CLL director), so I signed up for it. Then I thought, “Wow this is really cool!” so I signed up for more workshops. After doing the workshops, completing the other two certificate programs followed pretty naturally. I had done some leadership programs in high school, so I knew I was looking to do more of that, and the CLL took it to a whole new level. 

Franchesca: How did you feel about the workload, completing three certificate programs while also getting your electrical engineering degree?

Alex: It really varied! Sometimes with engineering, you don’t have that much going on, but then other times it can be difficult to keep up. The workshops were flexible, so I was able to manage those. For the certificate programs that have a set time, I just added those to my schedule, tried to keep the class schedule lighter, and just treated them as another class. 

Christie: Knowing how busy students are, why should they carve out the time to develop their leadership skills?

Alex: Leadership is a very broad topic, so developing that might look different for different people. That being said, one of my peers has mentioned that when you’re applying for a job, it’s really hard to quantify leadership. Unless you’ve been team captain or president of a fraternity, it’s difficult to show you’ve had leadership experience. The CLL is probably far and above the best way to demonstrate leadership at UCD, outside of having title roles in a club or fraternity or sport. But running a club or frat can be a lot more time-intensive than signing up to attend a course for a few hours every week and then applying what you learned through an internship or project. I think the program is a great way to strike the balance of gaining those leadership skills while not being completely overwhelmed with running an organization. And you’d be surprised at what you learn! 

 

Final Thoughts and Advice

Franchesca: Do you have any last advice, either for students interested in the CLL, or for undergraduate students in general?

Alex: For students in general: try as much as you can. You’re in a position now where you can sign up for a stand-up comedy club, and then on the same day go to another shared-interests club, like board games or tennis. You’d be surprised by what you learn, who you meet, and where you end up. I’m still connected with someone I met in a video-game development club, and most of his career has been not so much about what he learned in school, but what he learned from being in the club. 

Definitely try to find things that light you up—things you might pursue later as a career, and things you just enjoy as a hobby. Davis is very walkable, so it’s easy to engage in extracurricular activities. And a surprising amount of what you learn outside of the classroom becomes more relevant in the real world. For instance, I worked in an electrical engineering lab doing undergrad research, and I learned a lot about high-frequency circuit design. It was a huge help in getting my job now. I wouldn’t have had that opportunity if I hadn’t been trying things outside of my degree/coursework; I started in chem lab, then went to a bunch of energy/environmental engineering programs, and then pivoted to the radar stuff. 

For CLL advice specifically, I jumped right in with the year-long program. Maybe that’s not the best strategy if you’re looking for time management, but sometimes you’ve got to take that leap if you want to learn and grow! But yes, look at the workshop list and see if anything resonates with you. Go in with a goal. You can pick one thing you want to learn, and then practice applying that to your life. 

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For more information on our certificate programs and workshops, see the Complete a Certificate page and the Participate in a Workshop page of our website. 

This article series, what we’re calling “Alumni Perspectives”, serves two purposes: (1) to share the perspectives of past CLL members, so that current undergraduates better understand both the purpose and the long-term impacts of our program, and (2) to highlight past CLL members who admirably dedicate their time to developing themselves and others as leaders.