Leadership

By: Ashley Joseph, Avri Ruffcorn, Benjamin Linden and Bella Swan

"Ultimately, leadership is not about glorious crowning acts. It's about keeping your team focused on a goal and motivated to do their best to achieve it, especially when the stakes are high and the consequences really matter. It is about laying the groundwork for others' success, and then standing back and letting them shine." -Chris Hadfield

What is Leadership to me?

Moore Community House: Bella's Perspective

In Biloxi, our first service activity was spent at the Moore Community House, which provides affordable childcare to low income families. To start off the day, each of us went to different classrooms where we met amazing teachers and got to know the eight young kids we would spend the morning with. During recess time, we helped kids go down the slide, pushed them around in the wagon, and ran laps around the playground with them. During this time, I enjoyed watching the other members on my team take on their leadership roles as they entertained as many as 10 kids at once! After lunch, the kids took out their cots and laid down for nap-time. While the kids were asleep, I noticed that Charity had searched for more ways to serve the teachers. After deciding that she would decorate a classroom door, she immediately took on a leadership role and began recruiting a team, delegating tasks, and collecting supplies. The teacher was amazed at the short amount of time it took to finish the project.

Looking back on Charity’s leadership that day has taught me that there are certain characteristics of being an effective leader. Charity listened to other’s opinions when we sat down to pick a design for the door. Additionally, Charity knew we were on a time constraint, so she assigned us tasks based on our strengths so we could work more effectively. She was inquisitive, always asking if there was a better layout for the design or if we had differing opinion about how we should go about the task. Observing Charity in this short amount of time taught me a leader who works with the team is always more effective than a leader who just commands a team- an important lesson to remember as I find myself with various leadership roles.

Boys and Girls Club: Ben's Perspective

Stated on their website, the Boys and Girl Club of East Biloxi "has been a leader in youth development programming and advocacy efforts for young people from high-risk environments within our two coastal counties. Our strategic vision is to assist Gulf Coast youth to live out their greatest dreams through the development of skills and competencies and keep 100% of Club participants on track for high school graduation, with post secondary plans." The building was hidden behind a wall of construction, and adjacent to a loud highway. We finally found our way to the facility, in which we noticed was housed in a former church. We waited until the children arrived from school, observing the old gym surrounding us inside. Finally, when the children arrived, our service began.

The children were at first hesitant to our presence, but it did not take long for us to cheerfully get them excited to have us! Many of us stayed in the gym to play basketball, and the rest went upstairs to spend time with the younger kids. Almost immediately, the kids asked us to play basketball. Well, for the next three hours, we did just that. It was during our physically enduring conquest on the court when I noticed a true act of leadership defined. Chris Ohrt was one of our volunteers in that basketball game. He was on a different team than myself, so we were competitors for the moment. I watched Chris play his heart out with the team. He passed to all of his teammates, even the kids who may not normally see the ball. He encouraged the kids, laughed with them, and made sure he was going to be a team player. One may ask, how is leadership defined by a game of basketball? In simple terms, the game was more than that. It was an opportunity for theses kids to be challenged by older role models who had no previous bias in which to formulate any action or opinion against. Chris looked at all of these kids as equals on the court, and laughed and joked with them in the same respect. He would pause the game to help a kid who had fallen. He would encourage a frustrated kid who just missed a shot. But most of all, he gave his time, energy, certainly his sweat, and love to the kids in those three hours.

I learned a lot while at the Boys and Girls Club. To be considered a leader to someone, it does not matter who you are, what you look like, where you are from, or how long you have been around. Chris came into a building with predominantly black children whom he had never met. Through his genuine encouragement and dedication to these kids, they looked up to him and allowed him to be a leader. It was a beautiful observation; such honest effort can be so important. Even beyond watching Chris lead, I saw the kids even start to mimic such behaviors. There was a single girl in the game. The boys were not so eager to pass it to her, but after watching us volunteers utilize her...they did too. Leadership trickles down; it is can be acclimated by the led. In the future and in the opportunities I have to lead in front of me, I will be confident, encouraging, and see everyone in the same respect. I will allow others to lead with me, and make sure I am not leading on, but rather leading with and leading to assist.

Mental Health Association: Bella's Perspective

On our second day of service, we spent the day at the Mental Health Association of Southern Mississippi (MHASP). We arrived at the location before the members came and I could tell that everyone was a bit curious about how the day would go. Similarly, when the members arrived, we could tell that they wondered about all the new faces. It only took a few minutes of genuine conversation with our new friends for us to feel the love at the MHASM. I specifically remember one member asking us if anyone was good with computers and we all came to the unanimous decision that our friend, Kyle, was the most knowledgeable. Immediately, Kyle and his new friend found a computer where the two played games and downloaded music for a good amount of time. At one point, I walked past the two at the computer and I noticed that Kyle was not only teaching his friend how to navigate through certain websites, but he was also writing down the steps on a piece of paper to refer to after our day at the MHASM. I saw characteristics of good leadership in Kyle by the way he taught, communicated, prepared his friend for the future. Through Kyle, I learned how easy it can be to take on a leadership role and thrive in it. He was patient, helpful, and diligent, and he was thanked many times for being for his actions that day.

Loaves and Fishes: Avri's Perspective

On our last day of service during the trip, we had the opportunity to spend the morning at Loaves and Fishes, a community kitchen in Biloxi that serves meals to the hungry. As people began walking in and we started serving meals, there were two members of our team, Yanran and Mike, who stood out as leaders. Mike was willing to fulfill any role that was needed of him that day and was moved around from place to place. While most of us took a small break to eat and talk with a few of the people recieving a meal, Yanran was one of the people who continued to serve meals and work hard during that time. Neither of them complained at all about what they were doing. They were very willing to do anything asked of them.

I learned about leadership by seeing the impact their hard work had on the rest of the group. Even though they didn't say anything to us verbally, their actions spoke louder than words. I know for me at least, it motivated me to get back to work after I had finished my meal and kept my motivation high. I wanted to work hard like they were, and I think the rest of the group felt that way also. Leading by example can be a very powerful thing, and I didn't realize just how much that can affect a group's work ethic until then. In the future, I hope to take what I learned from those two people and lead more by example rather than by trying to force people to do something. If you lead by example, people will be more willing to work with you and follow your lead.

YMCA: Ashley's Perspective

Our team had the opportunity to end our trip with a visit to the Mississippi Gulf Coast YMCA, also known as the Y. Their mission is "to put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind, and body for all." The Y is a community centered nonprofit that brings people together and nurtures potential. All people of any age or background are welcome to join and potentially thrive in their goals. We were all unsure at first on what our service would be at this location but we soon realized how impactful a little hard work and effort could be. We were given a short tour then our team was split into several groups and assigned different tasks such as raking leaves outside, vacuuming inside, or cleaning bathrooms.

My fellow teammate Jiawen Wang and I had the pleasure of helping Vi, a staff member, with cleaning the bathrooms/locker rooms and taking out trash. Vi was very welcoming and thankful for the extra hands. Now, prior to the trip, Jiawen was quiet and kept to herself; however, I witnessed her confidence and leadership qualities emerge throughout the trip. At the Y, Jiawen genuinely seemed interested in Vi's story and would speak up with questions and comments. Jiawen's open-mindedness and curiosity made Vi feel comfortable enough to share more and more. We were also open to sharing our viewpoints on matters such as gun control and the current state of our economy. Jiawen displayed great listening and empathy skills which carried on to the rest of the trip.

This is Bella being an active citizen helping the staff of the Y with raking and gathering leaves of the local park.

I believe leadership is a developing skill that continuously grows throughout an individual's life and more significantly through experiences such as these. Jaiwen was originally one of the quieter ones in our team but like many of us, she became more comfortable and began actively engaging in conversation and activities. Like my fellow teammate, I felt myself gaining confidence in myself and my place within our team to make sure everyone felt included and important. Just like how Jaiwen listened to Vi, I would listen to my team members and their different perspectives on service, relationships, and life in general. I loved being a part of a team where we are all so different in our own ways but this trip brought us together in an unimaginable way. We were all able to encompass what a leader is together as a unit working alongside one another in as much of an inclusive manner as possible. Like my hero Mahatma Gandhi once said, "I suppose leadership at one time meant muscle; but today it means getting along with people." I learned much more than I was expecting on this trip and I will forever be grateful for the experience and the personal development.

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