Leadership

"Be the change you want to see in the world" - Mahatma Gandhi

When we began our first day of service, the school we went to had no idea that we were coming. From there we worked with the guidance counselor to create and adapt an impromptu curriculum to deal with parent-teacher conferences as well as other scheduling and technical conflicts.

We had to work as a team to plan and brainstorm whenever adversities had arisen on the trip. Flexibility was crucial to the overall success of the trip.

At Lawn Academy, an after school program, we worked together to adapt career building and life skills targeted for high school students for a primarily middle school audience. We did this by playing "who are you" games and helped students with their homework.

When we were working in the high school, we had the opportunity to work individually with students who were very close to our age. It was a powerful and eye-opening experience to be able to share life experiences and to be looked up to by students who were just about as old as we are.

Being open minded: In our first conversation with the school staff, there was an impression that the students were unmotivated and had no goals. However when we engaged with the students with interest and openness, we discovered confident teenagers with big dreams and aspirations for their futures.

Cultural Awareness: In order to build a meaningful connections with others, it is crucial to be aware of the diverse cultural experiences and economic circumstances embedded in each one of us. This awareness helped us as a team to relate, communicate and foster an environment of mutual openness and respect when approaching the students.

Impact and Intent: During the trip, we learned as group that one needs to be aware and careful on how to deliver messages, orders or recommendations because many times we as individuals can cause a negative impact, even if there was a good intent behind.

As leaders we evaluated our position as outsiders coming into this school. We knew in three days that we weren’t going to be able to change the world and solve every problem.
We decided the approach of being open books and letting the students ask us anything would be most beneficial.
We made one-on-one connections with the students and got them to tell us and or create their plan for after high school. We hoped to have gotten them to start thinking about their futures and what they need to be doing now to reach their goals.
We also gave them information on a wide range of resources in their community that they can use to achieve their aspirations.
Many of us are still in contact with students we made connections with and we hope to return to the school again next year.

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