When we started CREATIVE AID: Practicum, our professor, Fernando Del Rosario, assembled us into teams with the help of a questionnaire. One of the questions was “which animal would you choose to be from the following? golden retriever / otter / beaver / lion?” Very few chose lion, possibly since no one wanted to be leader.

As the semester went on I noticed Fernando's desktop wallpaper was a lion, and someone once asked what his sign is and he is a leo. I had these little details in the back of my head as the semester went on, and honestly I never had much of an appreciation for the symbolism of a lion.

I used to always associate being a leader, with someone who was bossy and self-centered. I always saw myself more as a supportive individual instead of the lead. I ended up being leader that semester of our group (not excited about it at all at first) and was so worried I wouldn't be able to handle it. Weirdly enough I flourished. I was able to be supportive to my team members in the strongest way possible, present 10x better, and comfortably take responsibility when things went wrong. By the end of the semester, I could wholeheartedly say I loved being a leader. And Fernando really inspired me in that regard. As well as reassured me I was doing well along the way.

So now the lion means a lot more to me. Which manifested into ROARY. A lion that isn't self-centered and bossy. A lion who is compassionate and just wants to help folks out.