Kareem Hayes

Kareem Hayes is the Assistant Director, Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement

Kareem is a university professional currently working in the Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement as the Assistant Director. Kareem takes great pride in offering leadership programs for students who are interested in growing their leadership capacity and developing their leadership identities.

1. How do you teach or exemplify Applied Critical Thinking?

My approach to teaching applied critical thinking is to meet students where they are and help them to see the world from a different perspective. I believe this allows for the process of empathy and creates a space for interactive learning. Each of us has a set of experiences and beliefs that guide our thinking of how we see and interact with the world. I believe it is my responsibility as a facilitator to guide conversations by asking questions and connecting ideas. A technique I like to use to help students think more deeply is to ask them to tell me more or if they can expound more on their thought. I use this technique to help students think more about their thinking and because I am genuinely curious. Curiosity has also been a very important approach for me as a leader and facilitator because I love to learn about people and their experiences. Dale Carnegie who is the author of How to Win Friends and Influence People says to be genuinely interested in other people and I wholeheartedly believe this helps in facilitating conversations.

2. Why do you think Applied Critical Thinking is important in your domain or role?

In my role as the Assistant Director of leadership programming in the Center for the Leadership and Civic Engagement, applied critical thinking is important because it builds the leadership capacity of students. The students of today will be the leaders of tomorrow and will need to think critically about challenges in that affect individuals, communities, and organizations. It is my role to provide a space that will help them to think about the challenges by focusing on their strengths and developing leadership competencies. The vehicles I used to take students through the critical thinking process is with programs like Momentum that focuses on developing leadership competencies and identities. My office also offers a Leadership Retreat, Alumni panels, and on-demand-training for student organizations and staff.

3. Can you share a story where quality Applied Critical Thinking was key to your success?

I had the privilege of facilitating a discussion with RIT students about change leadership and Kurt Lewin's freeze, change, and unfreeze change model. The students were tasked with working alongside two non-profit organizations in Monroe County to provide potential solutions for employee retention. It was my role to help the students think about change from the viewpoint of an organization and its members. In the discussion, students displayed empathy and recognized the challenge of change and navigated the possibilities of different perspectives relating to the organization and its employees. Students also recognized that change is a process and their role is part of a much larger puzzle. By the end of the conversation, students had the tools needed for critically thinking about their approach to interviewing staff about their experiences.

4. How do you use critical thinking in other areas of your life outside of RIT?

Outside of RIT, I serve as the board president for Rochester Community Television. With the change in how media is consumed, we have had to think critically as an organization with how we offer public broadcasting/media services to the community. We have also tapped into partnering with key organizations to update equipment and offer services to meet the needs of the community. I am very excited about the direction of the organization going into the next 50 years.

Also, I am involved with the Rochester My Brother’s Keeper program where I coordinate classes for black and brown male high school students to help them develop life skills for success. Each of the students that are part of the program brings a set of experiences that have helped them to be resilient, exercise empathy, and tap into their creative thinking skills. I bring in professionals from the community to facilitate workshops on managing money, managing a household, and how to advocate for their basic needs.