Bridget Mulrooney

Name: Bridget Mulrooney
Year: Junior
Major: Women’s Studies
Minors: African/African-American Literature and Spanish
Campus Involvement: VOX: Voices for Planned Parenthood; Contemporary Issues Advisory Board; Women’s Studies Steering Committee; EARTH Group; Students Stand Up for Peace; PASSHE Women’s Leadership Institute graduate; and LGBTQA Ally

What is your favorite aspect of WCU or what is the best thing about being a WCU student?
One of my favorite things about WCU is the encouragement people give to students here – faculty, administrators, other students, and everyone behind the scenes give encouragement to students to be involved, to learn, to be who you want to be, to challenge yourself and grow. I think there are a lot of interesting classes here and a diverse range of academic programs, student groups, events and people.

What are some thoughts, or ideas that have helped to mold you into a successful leader?
Some thoughts and ideas that I have learned here at WCU that have helped me are the ideas of agency, empowerment, the power of people working together in grassroots ways, the power of people just talking to each other about issues they feel are important and aren’t talked about often enough and many more that come from feminist theory and other theories I have learned about in school.

What do you think is an important quality of an effective leader?
There are many important qualities – but if I think about it, in my opinion, many of them fall under the category of caring. To me, if you don’t care about whatever it is you’re trying to lead people in and the people you’re trying to lead, how can you lead well? I would also like to say that an important quality of an effective leader is for that person to know that he or she is not the only leader, that there are many leaders.

Who is the leader you most look up to or who has influenced you the most?
I look up to all leaders that possess courage, passion, love, critical and understanding thought, and progressive, kind, helpful ideas regarding equality, social justice, the environment, global feminism, government and economic systems, etc. People who are before their time, who are radical in their time, who sacrifice things when they know it is for the benefit of everyone and the world are extremely influential and inspiring.

What are your future plans?
After graduation I’d like to join the Peace Corps and be stationed somewhere in Africa or South America. Then I’d like to pursue graduate degrees in order to work in some type of a nongovernmental, nonprofit, activist organization, or maybe teach one day, or do anything that works on issues I believe in.

How do you expect your experience in student clubs and organizations will benefit you for the future?
I expect that my experience in student clubs and organizations will benefit me in the future in a few ways. I’ve learned how to plan and organize events, I’ve gained experience working in different kinds of groups, I’ve come to understand the practical side of getting things done, like filling out all kinds of forms, fundraising, advertising, networking, etc. All of this I believe will help in the work world because these processes are everywhere – in government, business, and all types of organizations.

What advice would you give to fellow students about leadership or how they can get involved on campus?
The advice I would give is to figure out what you’re interested in and then figure out if there’s a club or place or academic program or class related to it and go there, get involved with it. I would say get involved as soon as you can and want to. There are so many things here to do and people in the clubs want you to be a part of it. At times it could be hard not to be hesitant or overwhelmed as a first year, transfer, or any year student who wants to get involved, but to get involved in a club will help you through your entire experience here in many ways.

I would also say that anyone can become a leader, no matter how much you think you don’t possess the qualities people say one needs to be a leader. Leadership comes in many forms and to me, it is not totally about leading other people; it is about leading yourself, saying I can do this, doing it for yourself, for fulfillment, and people will see the good you are doing and they will be helped to lead themselves also. Becoming a leader takes some time, work, and effort which are all very fun and amazing.