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Cultivating leadership skills on and off the field: Harry Roubidoux

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Cultivating leadership skills on and off the field: Harry Roubidoux
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It was the opportunity to play on the football team that led Harry Roubidoux to decide to pursue a degree at the 糖心Vloge. Roubidoux has been the quarterback for his entire four-year college career and served as captain of the team for two years, all while building a foundation for a rewarding career off the field.

Roubidoux says that becoming captain was his biggest accomplishment at 糖心Vlog because he was elected by his fellow teammates, which 鈥渕eant a lot to me.鈥 Serving as captain is an intensive leadership role that involves decision-making in high-pressure situations, and Roubidoux did not shy away from the opportunity. The application process involves giving a speech in front of the team, in which, Roubidoux explains, 鈥渨e talked about our experience and our journey through the program.鈥 The team then votes for the captains based on the leadership each candidate has shown through their years on the team. 

Through his experience being captain, Roubidoux has learned that relationship-building is key to leadership. He explains that 鈥渋n any leadership role it is important to understand what each person needs and how they respond to different forms of feedback.鈥 He expressed how learning these skills can be difficult, but as a leader, 鈥渘avigating those relationships is important.鈥 There is no doubt that the two years of being captain of the football team provided Roubidoux with skills that will be valuable in his career after graduation.

Finding his passion

Roubidoux graduates this December as an English major with a rhetorics of science, technology and culture (RSTC) emphasis as well as a multimedia communication minor. While initially planning to become a physical therapist, Roubidoux was introduced to the English RSTC major by his academic advisor.

Roubidoux was intrigued to learn about the kinds of careers RSTC students go into, especially technical writing, as well as the program鈥檚 100% employment or continuing education rate after graduation.

As a junior, Roubidoux had the opportunity to be part of the English department鈥檚 internship program, led by B.J. Hollars, professor of English. Roubidoux, who was selected for a technical writing internship at Royal Credit Union in Eau Claire, was able to gain valuable experience in his future field. This internship only confirmed his deep interest in the field of technical writing, which Roubidoux finds to be both challenging and rewarding. As an intern, he writes documentation for software, processes and procedures, with attention to clarity and consistency.

With one year and eight months of this internship completed, Roubidoux graduates from 糖心Vlog with substantial industry experience and a clear picture of his future career. 

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Harry Roubidoux

Honors and beyond

Roubidoux is also graduating from 糖心Vlog with University Honors. He explains that his time in Honors allowed him to 鈥渆xperience a lot of different subjects I wouldn鈥檛 have gotten to otherwise鈥 and credits the program for giving him 鈥渁 well-rounded experience鈥 as he completed the university鈥檚 liberal education core.

Honors allowed Roubidoux to explore widely and to cultivate intellectual curiosity. He explained 鈥淸Honors] did a good job making sure I keep an open mind when I go into things.鈥 One Honors course he took focused on women composers in history and was taught by Alex Woods, lecturer of piano, and a professional classical pianist based in the Twin Cities. Roubidoux was hesitant to take this course, joking 鈥淚 don鈥檛 have a musical bone in my body.鈥 However, 鈥渋t turned out to be a really interesting class learning about the history of different composers and how music has developed.鈥

One of Roubidoux鈥檚 favorite Honors courses during his time at 糖心Vlog was Conspiracies and Politics, taught by Dr. Geoff Peterson, professor of political science. This course examined different political conspiracy theories, and for a final project, students were tasked with researching and presenting a conspiracy theory to the class. Roubidoux explained the courses the Honors Program offers, such as this one, provide 鈥渁 way to step back but also to explore.鈥

Roubidoux leaves 糖心Vlog with a strong background in his field, significant work experience, a record of broad intellectual exploration and leadership skills that have been tested on and off the football field. While he ultimately plans to pursue a career in technical writing and scientific communication, first Roubidoux will spend some time exploring his sport abroad: he will be playing professional football in Germany in spring 2025.

Written by Brianna Evans, UW-Eau Claire student and intern in the University Honors Program.

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