Themes from the life and

works of
Nicklaus Neff

Nicklaus Neff
April 6, 2021
OGL 482
Professor Janice Lawhorn
Introduction
This presentation holds what
I consider to be 10 themes
that I have found throughout
reflecting on my life and the
work that I have done. These
are not baseless themes
rather, they are a culmination
of hours of meticulous
planning, research and
reflection.
 Research Process and Methods

Throughout my OGL 482 class I have completed several assignments that revolved around my personal
identity, my values, aspirations, dreams, and my personality.
These assignments included a discussion post where we answered 3 philosophical questions pertaining to
ourselves along with sections on identity, values, and dreams. A personal narrative that encapsulates the
spirit of yourself and how you have come to be the person you are. And a series of assessments such as the
Kuder, career anchors, and Holland personality traits assessments.
Each of these assignments have worked to give me a better sense of myself, and who I truly am.
What I have done is take all of the assignments and information I gleaned from them, and analyzed them to
create a set of data.
Research Process and Methods
Continued

I started to quantify my data in a negative way by first electing to create themes

that I felt fit me, and then I went into the data to find evidence to support that.
This was not the correct way to do this, so I put that thought processes away and
started from the beginning
I first went through and read my personal narrative essay and took note of aspects I
felt could be seen as themes. I then went through my assessments and took note
simply of my top priorities and lowest priorities. I then went through the rest of the
assignments and carefully looked through them to see what stuck out to me.
After compiling all of that data, I wrote everything down in my notebook and
proceeded to systematically categorize them to see what pieces fit together.
From here I was able to see the themes. Rather than picking and choosing them, I
let them float to the top naturally and simply quantified the data.
My Data Sources
This section will go into further detail on the
data sources I used to compile my
information.
These sources come from several classes,
however the majority of information has been
derived from the OGL 482 course
 Data Sources

● Module 1: 3 Questions discussion (3Q)- This was one of the first assignments for the OGL 482 class and it covered
answering 3 philosophical questions, my top values and traits, identifying personal identities and roles, and discovering
an underlying theme for my dreams and aspirations.
● Life Story Personal Narrative (PN)- The personal narrative was the second big project I completed for the OGL 482 class
and it encompasses what I feel are the most important parts of my life from birth to the present. The goal of this project
was to reflect on my major life experiences and derive themes from them.
● Kuder Assessments (KA)- The Kuder assessments are 3 assessments that work in tandem with each other to help give
someone a better understanding of themselves, their goals, their values, their confidence in their skills, and their career
interests. I used these three assessments to gather information about myself in a quantifiable manner.
● Career Anchors Assessment (CA)- The career anchors assessment was part of a module discussion for the OGL 482
class. This goal of this assessment was to quantify several factors of my career and rank them. This was a good way to
show what I actually value over what I thought I valued.
● Big Five Personality Traits Assessment (B5)- The big five personality traits assessment was an assessment I took
during my time at CGCC. The goal of this assessment was to quantify the big five personality traits to give me a better
understanding of myself.
● Myers-Briggs Personality Assessment (MB)- The myers briggs personality assessment was another assessment I took
when I attended school at CGCC. This tool uses a broader range of questions to give a percentile of specific personality
traits. It then produces your top traits and generates a sort of code to quantify your personality, me being an INFJ.
My 10 Themes
This section showcases the
data I have extracted from
my data sources. These are
themes that naturally
developed through the
course of looking through my
sources.
Theme 1: Leadership
● Theme Statement: Leadership has been a defining characteristic in the things I look for throughout life.
The topic of leadership has lead me to be who I am today. 

● Supporting Data:
○ I have searched for positive leaders within my life for a long time, surrounding myself with people I viewed as good leaders
and good influences. From a young age, leadership had an influence on me and my perception of the world. This is seen in
the people I chose to write about and the people I idolized as I grew up such as my grandmother (PN).
○ The thought of leadership and the people who I saw as leaders lead me to grow by learning about leadership. This is
apparent in my four years of enrollment in the AFJROTC program where I systematically learned about leadership both in
the classes and through seeing leaders in action. (PN)
○ My highest career anchor is service and dedication to a job, which I take to mean that I value putting others first. This is a
sign of a leader, someone who is willing to put their own motives aside to get the job done. (CA)
○ My top values reflect the etiquette of a leader in that they are coworker, supervision, and workplace. Because I value these
aspects of a career, I see how the value apply to leadership. My values are reflective of my leadership style, because these
are things I value in a leader, therefore I try to encapsulate them. (CA)
○ “Being there for others brings me joy, which is why I have chosen to pursue a path in organizational leadership, so that I
may use what I have learned to help others.” (3Q)
○ “I have studied for many years to hone my leadership skills and organizational understanding to better help people with my
unique set of skills. This is what I feel I need to do, and that sense of purpose is derived from the joy I feel from helping
others.” (3Q)
Theme 1: Leadership con’t
● Contradictory Evidence
○ My strong desire to be a leader and learn about leadership may be perceived as a need for power and authority,
however I do not see those being the case. In my findings, I show that I am more than welcome with taking a back
seat if I feel that someone else is better situated for the task. I love being a follower and a part of a team, learning
for me is just as important and fulfilling as doing.

● Reflection
○ Studying leadership and learning about it both through institutions and through experience has had an amazing
positive impact on my life. Learning about leadership and through that process becoming a leader myself, I have
learned to give my life purpose
Theme 2: Teamwork/ Comradery
● Theme Statement: I strive to be a part of a team who not only works with each other but cares for and
about each other.

●Supporting Data:
○ I work extremely well with groups and value the time and effort put in by others. I feel a need to communicate and
bond with those around me because it is in my nature and what I value. (3Q)
○ I value being a helping hand for others. My passion comes from helping, and being on a team that also values that is
something I strive to achieve. (3Q)
○ My time spent in AFJROTC is a reflection of how much I value being in a group of dedicated people who want to make
the world and themselves better. (PN)
○ “We ran and exercised every morning, we marched and worked as a team, we ate together and told stories together,
we cleaned and cried and lived together”. This is from my time at summer leadership school, and it shows my love for
the bond we shared. We were a cohesive unit, we did everything together, and I cherish that. (PN)
○ A strength of an INFJ personality type is that they are sensitive to the needs of others. This is an essential trait of a
good team. (MB)
○ “I feel that my social skills relate to my section on team dynamics from my portfolio. This also falls in line with my
value of coworkers”. Strong value is placed on creating a positive team environment. (KA)
Theme 2: Teamwork/ Comradery con’t
● Contradictory Evidence
○ My strong sense of team value is consistent through all of my works and it is reflected in my day to day life and
work activities. I do not believe any evidence could be found as I openly and clearly strive to create and maintain
positive working team relations.

● Reflection
○ I work to create relationships that I feel are meaningful and positive. I do this in part because it is what I look for in
the workplace, but also because it is what I value. I feel that teams are more productive and happier when the
team has a good relationship and holds a sense of comradery. Dedication to themselves and the craft is what I
strive to be a part of.
Theme 3: Empathy
● Theme Statement: Empathy is my defining characteristic. It is something that I have worked on and
honed for many years both consciously and unconsciously.

●Supporting Data:
○ “I feel my ability to empathize and pull from the diverse amount of memories that I have, that I am able to expertly advise
and consult on a multitude of issues. Empathy is something that I would consider to be my defining factor, therefore, I
use it to pursue what brings me joy.” (3Q)
○ “With their strong sense of intuition and emotional understanding, INFJs can be soft-spoken and empathetic.” (MB) This
is labeled as an INFJ key characteristic.
○ “people with this personality type are able to form strong, meaningful connections with other people. They enjoy helping
others” (MB)
○ Growing up as a foster brother, I quickly learned to empathize with their situations. Despite never knowing what they had
been through, I tried my best to be a person who could empathize and connect with them. (PN)
○ “With each child we helped, I felt that I grew as a person, that I had learned about their lives and why they acted the way
that they did. Living with them helped me to develop a great deal of empathy.” (PN)
○ “social issues and social work have always been an interest of mine. Human relations was even something that I
considered majoring in”. I show that I have an interest in social issues and want to actively improve my ability to
empathize. (KA)
Theme 3: Empathy con’t
● Contradictory Evidence
○ My ability to empathize has come from the massive amount of trauma that I have experienced. It is what I
consider to be my defining trait, but Wisdom is another trait I try to inhabit. While I do not believe it takes precedent
over empathy, it could be seen that I strive more for wisdom than I do for empathy. (3Q)

● Reflection
○ I still believe that empathy is the trait I try to encompass the most. This is reflected in the works that I have created
and the sentiments that I hold. My personal values also reflect an ability to empathize with others, and I feel that I
will continue to work hard and be an empathetic person.
Theme 4: Volunteer/ Service
● Theme Statement: Living my life in service to others and those who are in harder circumstances than
myself is something that I have lived by for many years and will continue live by.

●Supporting Data:
○ I am an active member of my community and am associated with several nonprofit organizations. These are
organizations that I have worked with for going on 10 years, starting when I was 13. (PN)
○ Organizations like recycle your bicycle, feed my starving children, Jose’s closet, and friends for life are all
organizations I have been associated with and actively work with. (PN)
○ “Nonprofits take a major part of my life, I feel they hold a huge role within my life.” (3Q)
○ “I am proud to serve my community through the various organization I work with” (3Q)
○ “Most of the occupations to explore came in the form of social work such as social and community service
managers, training and development managers, PR managers, and fundraising managers. I feel that each
occupation would suit me and that all were something that was suited to my interests.” Community service
manager is a position that was advertised to me based on my values assessment. (KA)
○ “My primary and secondary career anchors are; sense of service/ dedication to a cause and lifestyle integration”, “I
have been working with and volunteering with several organizations since I was 13 years old, so service is not a
surprise” (KA).
Theme 4: Volunteer/ Service con’t
● Contradictory Evidence
○ My past experience with volunteering shows that it is something that I am passionate about and engaged with, but
as I have grown older it seems my paying job has taken a precedent. (3Q) (PN)

● Reflection
○ Living my life in service of others is something that I strive to do. I am passionate about being involved with my
community and my desire to help others has burned bright for many years. I feel this passion will continue to burn,
but I may not be able to actively engage in nonprofit work as much as I would like to due to changing
circumstances in my own life.
Theme 5: Work life balance
● Theme Statement: Dedicating myself to work is something I do, but I practice moderation and try
my best to live a fulfilling life by balancing work and play.

● Supporting Data:
○ “In order of importance lifestyle, coworkers, supervision, workplace, prestige, achievement, independence,
creativity, variety, challenge, security, and income.” My most important work value was lifestyle. (KA)
○ I am an introvert that requires time to recharge my batteries to be able to function in social settings. Therefore, I
strongly value balance. (PN)
○ “My dream is personal gratification and enlightenment through experience and meditation.” This highlights my
innate sense of working for balance and clarity in my life and work. (3Q)
○ My low levels of extraversion show that I am an introvert and am considered to be more of a shut in. (B5)
○ One of my primary career anchors is lifestyle integration. This means that my job is integrated well into my life, but
also that I am able to quantifiably separate myself at times. (CA)
○ I explain towards the end of my personal narrative that I had been looking back at my time at CGCC because I feel
that it provided me with more time to balance my school work and life style. (PN)
Theme 5: Work life balance con’t
● Contradictory Evidence
○ There is a solid case that I value work life balance in a very high capacity. Work is something I am familiar with and
have no problem dedicating myself to, but I have recently come to the realization that balance is key to living a
fulfilling life.

● Reflection
○ I recently chose to start changing my life because of a ted talk where work life balance was the topic. The main
take away was that work life balance needs to be less than a lifetime and more than a day. So while I know there
will be days where I am buried in my work, I need to strive to have days where I spend dedicated time with my
family and loved ones.
Theme 6: Mentorship
● Theme Statement: Being a mentor and someone who works with others to help them achieve their
personal goals.

● Supporting Data:
○ My job working as a site leader at a child care center shows that I chose to live my life as a mentor. (PN)
○ “I am able to expertly advise and consult on a multitude of issues” I use these skills to advise others and help them
as a mentor. (3Q)
○ “Oftentimes people will need a shoulder to lean on or someone to take a second look at their ideas or plans. I
believe that I am the person to do these things. I have studied for many years to hone my leadership skills and
organizational understanding to better help people with my unique set of skills.” (3Q)
○ I have scored a 71 in agreeableness, showing that I am friendly and I also have a 70 in intellect and imagination
which shows that I am open to experiences. These are hard traits of a mentor who is open to experience and
values helping. (B5)
○ I create bonds that are stronger and deeper than usual. (MB)
○ “My top skills were enterprising, social, and artistic skills” social skills help to round me out as a better mentor (KA)
Theme 6: Mentorship con’t
● Contradictory Evidence (if there is none then a brief explanation why feel this is so)
○ My job as a mentor works to highlight my value of being a mentor. The biggest contradiction is that I do not want
to be the kind of mentor that I am forever, I would like to serve as a consultant to many people rather than children.

● Reflection
○ Mentorship is something that has been a large part of my life. I have surrounded myself with mentors and I have
learned to become one. I try my best to use my skills to lift others up and feel a great satisfaction when helping
others and being a mentor reflects that.
Theme 7: Mental health
● Theme Statement: Mental health is an extremely important part of my life, both in a personal and
professional setting.

●Supporting Data:
○ The loss of my brother has changed me and made me a person who is acutely aware of others’ mental health. (PN)
○ Understanding my personal mental health has helped me to better understand my place in the world and how I can
use my understanding to help others. (PN)
○ “I personally feel very attuned with myself and understanding my goals, this has been brought on with the help of
therapy and self actualization through trauma.” (KA)
○ “I fairly recently took a personal inventory and have made changes in my life to better reflect my goals.” (KA)
○ “My number one dream was to hold great wisdom and knowledge. I don't just mean knowing things, but I mean
having a fundamental understanding of the world in terms of ethical, moral, political, and principle dynamics.” This
is seen through a lense of having to deal with years of traume. (3Q)
○ “The roles I play within my life shape my worldview and how I see things by giving me experiences. I use these
experiences as a lens to view the world around me.” By growing up as a depressed child I have experienced many
things and they ahve shaped me to be who I am. (3Q)
Theme 7: Mental health con’t
● Contradictory Evidence I do not view anything written here to be contradictory as I have had to struggle
immensely with the plights of mental health. Both in my own psyche but also in losing my brother.
● Reflection
○ Dealing with mental health and the problems that are associated with it has been the one constant throughout my
life. I would like to say that I have overcome the problems and grown to be a better person, and in some respect
that is true. But, losing a loved one to suicide is something I will never recover from and it has undoubtably
changed my life for the worse.
Theme 8: Commitment
● Theme Statement: I live my life committed to my work, my life, and my love.

● Supporting Data:
○ I have worked at my current job for since 2014. I started my job at the age of 16 and I have continued to work and
grow since then. (PN)
○ I have been in a committed relationship with my significant other for going on 6 years. (PN)
○ “My number one dream was to hold great wisdom and knowledge.” I am committed to my search for wisdom. (3Q)
○ A key trait of INFJ is that they are activists who are dedicated to a cause rather than glory. (MB)
○ I have scored high in the category of conscientiousness, meaning that I am careful and diligent. (B5)
○ “My primary and secondary career anchors are; sense of service/ dedication to a cause and lifestyle integration”.
Dedication is a key aspect to commitment. (CA)
Theme 8: commitment con’t
● Contradictory Evidence
○ Commitment is something that can be hard to fully dedicate yourself to. But, my work and life reflect that I have
been committed to my values and the people and organizations in my life.

● Reflection
I hold the aspect of commitment to a high standard. I value myself for being able to maintain long committed
relationships with my organization and with my significant other.
Theme 9: Personal growth
● Theme Statement: Personal growth is something everyone experiences, however I feel that it has
become a theme based on the work I have produced and how I feel now compared to how I felt then. 

●Supporting Data:
○ “I learned that I need to be comfortable with stepping back, I did not need to be the center of attention.” As a child I
learned to take a step back and give attention to others. (PN)
○ “With each child we helped, I felt that I grew as a person, that I had learned about their lives and why they acted the
way that they did. Living with them helped me to develop a great deal of empathy.” (PN)
○ “I think that personal assessments are excellent tools for understanding yourself and helping to create a career or life
path. They work as good stepping stones to internal assessments and personal inventories, which can help lead to
personal growth.” (KA)
○ “I fairly recently took a personal inventory and have made changes in my life to better reflect my goals. I think that
tools such as these assessments could be useful to others who have trouble with understanding their goals and
themselves” (KA)
○ I have grown from being an introvert who views interaction as a struggle, to someone who knows how to interact and
enjoys it while still managing the negative aspects of being an introvert. (MB)
○ “I want to meet people and understand their experiences and views and as my reward for this I want a peaceful life
with the one I love.” I have grown from a shut in to someone who has aspirations for their life. (3Q)
Theme 9: Personal growth con’t
● Contradictory Evidence
○ While I feel that I have been through a lot, I have not yet experienced much of what life has to offer. The biggest
contradiction I would say is that I am young and, while I feel that I have had many unique experiences, I still have
plenty to learn and experience.
● Reflection
○ I have grown immensely since starting my higher education and I will continue to grow as I move out of it. Even in
the time being in this class, I feel that I have learned about myself, my classmates, and my work in a way that has
helped me to be a more well rounded person.
Theme 10: Self truth
● Theme Statement: Not unlike personal growth. Self truth is more focused on maintaining my values and
being the person I want to be. Being unwavering in my decisions and making myself the best version I can
be.

●Supporting Data:
○ “I feel that the experiences that I hold shape my values, and having to cross them off felt almost as if I were diminishing my
experiences and lumping them together.” My values help me define who I am, and I do not wish to diminish them at all. (3Q)
○ “My least attended roles are some that I have actively left behind such as organized religion and certain communities that I
felt no longer were a part of me.” I chose my roles that help me to pursue my truth. (3Q)
○ “I also learned about working hard for the sake of others, and while our work was not directly involved with the programs
offered, our work was about making it easier for the staff to get through their daily tasks.” I have learned how participate in
work that is conductive to my pursuit of personal truth. (PN)
○ I found that the underlying theme of my dreams and wants for the future was self fulfilment in the form of enlightenment.
My number one dream was to hold great wisdom and knowledge. I don't just mean knowing things, but I mean having a
fundamental understanding of the world in terms of ethical, moral, political, and principle dynamics(3Q)
○ “My experiences here taught me to be comfortable with myself in new settings, and that I didn't have to be vocal or crazy or
super involved to have fun. I was simply existing and I could not have been more content.” I had learned a truth about myself
through reflection. (PN)
○ “My lowest scoring anchor was entrepreneurial creativity. All of my anchors did not surprise me because I am in tune with
who I am and what I value” By understanding what I am not, I can understand who I am. (CA)
Theme 10: self truth ones con’t
● Contradictory Evidence (if there is none then a brief explanation why feel this is so)
○ There is some evidence showing that I have my feet in too many shoes so to speak. I would argue that this goes to
further my point of pursuing self truth and what it means to be me. I try to follow my values and be unwavering, but
I am human so it would not be hard to find a point where I have erred in my judgement.

● Reflection
○ Learning over the years that I am a person who constantly needs to reaffirm their beliefs is something that took a
lot of introspection to figure out. I used to try to hide myself and my feelings, but now I do this in pursuit of wisdom
and truth of myself and my surroundings.
My Personal Vision Statement

As long as I draw breath, I will live my life in service of the greater good. I will use my strengths to lift others
up and create a world that I am proud to be a part of.

Reflection: I try to live my life according to the values that I feel are morally and ethically correct and I will
continue to do so. I want to use my strengths to protect and lift others up. I want to create something that I
am proud of and would be proud of to pass on to the next generation.
My Personal Mission Statement

I am dedicated to creating an environment where my friends, family, and coworkers feel safe and valued. I
will do this to the best of my ability, and I will work to hone my skills of leadership and empathy to achieve
this.

Reflection: I encapsulate these traits in my daily life and I will continue to do so as much as I can. I live my
life in service of others while still realizing that I need to balance and take care of myself. I will use my skills
to better others and myself, and I will pass on what I have learned to continue to help others long after I have
moved on.
Conclusion
Throughout this assignment I have learned that I have grown immensely in
such a short amount of time. I have learned to create meaningful values and
how I can work to live by them. I have learned how to derive meanings from
an objective standpoint rather than catering to my own personal whims. I
have also learned how thin I have spread myself out.
References

Cherry, K. (n.d.). What personality traits are characteristic of infjs. Retrieved April 07, 2021, from
https://www.verywellmind.com/infj-introverted-intuitive-feeling-judging-2795978#:~:text=INFJ%20
(introverted%2C%20intuitive%2C%20feeling,creative%2C%20gentle%2C%20and%20caring.

All else was derived from physical notes or assignments that were submitted via canvas.