Putting my Leadership in a Community Context: Front Entrance Beautification Project, Mentoring, Hospital Volunteering, and Service Trip to NOLAFor my community project, I chose my own neighborhood I've grown up in the past 21 years of my life. I decided to do a Front Entrance Beautification Project which I got together a team of about 16 people to repaint the sign, spread some dirt and beauty bark, and plant various annual plants. My role was being the facilitator, communicator, and project proposer. I had the idea and proposed it to the Ponderosa Estates Home Owners Association which they gave me a set buget to work with. I then sent a mass email out to neighbors asking for volunteers, and two of the neighbors contributed 2 truck loads of soil, some plants, and paint unexpectedly. On the set day of the project, it took about 4 hours to plant everything and get things established, there was a few days beforehand where the neighbors would periodically do some gradual work leading up to the project day. The result was a beautiful front entrance to the neighborhood for all the community to enjoy!!
During my LEAD certificate, I have completed various different workshops that interested me. These 5 workshops include: Leadership 101, Health & Wellness of Communities, Stress Rescue 101, Citizen University National Conference, and Mindful Families, Schools, & Communities Conference. Each workshop can contribute to aspects of my project in some way. Using the Leadership 101 workshop, I can use my thoughts on what it means to be a leader, how to make myself a better leader, and think of what’s the purpose of leadership. I can see where everyone involved in this project contributes some form of leadership, and if anything it’s at least by showing initiative and having a positive “can-do” attitude throughout this project. I’ve seen during this project how everyone’s individual ideas can make an even bigger impact when we compile them together—and that makes us all leaders in some way, by having some confidence in our initiatives, ideas, and goals. On top of my community project, I also did my 53 service hours between my volunteering as a hospital volunteer, high school mentor, and going on Spring Breakaway 2015 to New Orleans!. Below I briefly describe what I did there, related to showing leadership. Below is a slideshow of the progress of the project, as well as you can take a look at my project proposal and reflection from afterwards! |
Community Service: High School Mentoring at Mt. Tahoma
On top of my community project, I became part of the STEPS Program at UWT and mentored a senior girl getting ready for college. I helped her with getting financial aid, attended orientations for community colleges with her, helped her explore her options, and got her all set up to go to TCC in the fall! I used leadership in this position by making sure my mentee was staying on top of school work and our to-do lists, and always making myself available happily with a positive attitude. I think to be a good leader in this position, a person should be accomodating and flexible, patient yet assertive, and willing to work with others from diverse backgrounds and ages. The result of this volunteer work is my mentee will be going to college in the fall, and she became more independent and determined in her school work and improved her work ethic. I think this was made possible by me being a positive role model to her and her trying to be a good example herself. |
Community Service: Mental Health Unit Volunteer at St. Joseph Hospital
A position that requires both leadership and a need to want to serve others, I started volunteering at St. Joseph Hospital's 11th floor unit where I interact with the patients doing recreational activities, provide support and therapeutic communication to patients, help assist in basic daily needs, help patients work towards their goals and recovery, and be a part of the Franciscan team! This relates to what I want to do in my future as a mental health counselor, and by being in this environment it is expected that each person be a leader in a way and help out the team. Many of my leadership skills come from the duties I perform, especially dealing with confidential records, strong communication, and being kind and understanding and willing to help. To be a leader in this position means to feel comfortable doing things for yourself for the most part, yet don't be afraid to ask questions and ask the team. Often as leaders, we try to do things ourselves, but we can be stronger if we work as a team like Franciscan does. The result of this volunteer work is seeing patients recover, be able to return to their normal lifestyle, and be much happier and comfortable in their own skin. Community Service Work: Spring Breakaway 2015 in New Orleans:
I spent my spring break in New Orleans for the first time ever doing about 25.5 hours of service work. This service work included sorting mardi gras beads, helping in a charter school with crafts and making copies, helping plant little sapling trees, and interacting with the elderly local citizens by assisting in playing BINGO and a card game called "pitty pat." Each day was like a regular work day, 8 hours, and we worked as a team towards the common goal daily of making a positive difference in the community. On top of helping in the community, we built strong relationships among each other and all became close friends. Related to leadership, I would often jump to help when someone needed it, work hard, and lead by example. |
Front Entrance Beautification Project Slideshow and Project files
|
|