Aralyn’s Journey to Confidence and Advocacy
Meet Aralyn, a passionate and driven student from Muscatine, Iowa, whose experience with iJAG has shaped her personal growth and career aspirations.
Discovering iJAG
Aralyn’s journey with the iJAG program began with some initial uncertainty. She wasn’t familiar with the program’s purpose until her iJAG specialist, April Samuelson, introduced her to it during a hallway conversation. Aralyn quickly realized the value of the program, particularly in terms of developing her communication and networking skills.
“I personally want to go into law, so being able to have strong communication skills and networking is a big thing that iJAG helps students with,” said Aralyn. “It’s also helped in how I present myself. Being elected a State Career Association officer came with a number of obstacles that I had to go through, but each obstacle really helped me strengthen my communication skills – being able to prepare a speech or know how to get our points across in a conversation and speak to different groups of people.”
Through iJAG, Aralyn’s confidence in public speaking has soared and she’s been equipped with the tools necessary to navigate future professional opportunities.
A Day at the Capitol
Aralyn (far left) was able to display all she has learned through iJAG when she was invited to participate in iJAG’s Legislative Days in January. She recalls her first trip to the capitol as a bit of a whirlwind and a little surprising.
“I didn’t know what I was getting into until I arrived and saw the entire atmosphere,” said Aralyn. “I had the opportunity to be in a group with the iJAG CEO, Wendy, and we visited with various representatives and senators and the state treasurer. It was amazing to have a conversation about iJAG with such leaders just like they were normal people! They really put any nerves we had at ease.”
Aralyn also had the opportunity to visit with students from different schools and hear how iJAG has impacted them as well.
“The whole day just surprised me – hearing from other students and realizing how much we all have evolved. We each have our individual iJAG story, but we all still can connect to each other,” she said. “Being in that environment really gave me a sense of hope and confidence. We can learn from the past and everyone we met with and become the next generation of leaders!”