Peru mission:
Right before I embarked on my college journey, I had the opportunity to go on a mission trip to Peru. I spent my time caring for families and helping build a new garden with my missionary team for the local Peruvians. I also had an amazing experience getting to teach some of the local children in a remote village in the mountains of Peru. It was very different not only because of the language barrier but also because the children don’t get taught on a regular basis. My missionary team being there is one of the few chances the children get to learn. It was an amazing opportunity to learn to lead not only with actions but with heart and humility. I found I was actually learning in return from the people I was trying to help. |
Rome:
Being in Rome was an incredible experience and an incredible challenge. As a community we had to learn together what each other’s strengths and weaknesses were. In everything we did we had to compromise to find the best solution. We grew and bonded in great friendships and learned to care for one another so that we all could do our best, not only in school but also for the sake of the community. I was encouraged and pushed to step outside my comfort zone and lead when I wasn’t asked or to follow even if I didn’t know where we were going. There were many times I aimlessly followed a leader of our group putting all my trust in them that they knew where they were leading me. There were times when I would take lead to make sure that my group got back to campus on time navigating the busy roads. As a community/team I learned that our attitudes affect a lot and therefore giving one another confidence or showing someone that you trust them to lead you gives them the boost they need to do the thing they need to do. |
ELA Leadership experience:
While being on campus with my ELA team I was able to visit Bismarck High School to help teach a class on what it means to be a part of a team. We walked through several different scenarios of how to be a good team player and asked them questions on what they think would make a good leader or role model. It was a great experience for me to work with my ELA team to try and inspire other students to be respectful and kind to their peers, and really be thoughtful and intentional about their actions. With my ELA team we also worked hard to donate items for mothers with young children during the holiday tree fundraiser mini competition. I was in charge of checking off the items and making sure the correct tags were on the Christmas tree. While this was not directly correlated to ELA I thoroughly enjoyed branching out and working with the larger UMary community. |