Before the experience, what did you think would happen?
I thought it was going to be very challenging. Running a whole service project on my own as a 17 year old is intimidating. There are so many things that go into running a project and there is a lot of responsibility placed on you. I was afraid to make mistakes. Although I had these fears, I believed I could get the job done.
What did you expect to gain from an educational stand-point?
I expected that I would learn how to critically think through problems and learn to properly organize an event. I was ready to learn how to prioritize tasks and use time management to get them all done in the allotted time. I expected to learn how to work cooperatively with others and delegate jobs to people helping me.
What new knowledge did you hope to gain from this experience?
My main hope was that I would learn and understand the process of planning a big event. I have been involved in many service activities but I have never run one by myself. I wanted to learn how to make sure to think of everything needed to have an event this size run smoothly and efficiently.
What new relationships did you gain from this experience?
I got to work closely with many people from my church that I would not have ordinarily worked with. I had to communicate with a lot of adults to make sure that information was communicated to the church. Each family that we helped was given to us through people at church. I got to work with them to help the families that they knew were in need. It was nice to get to know the people I wouldn't normally interact with so that we could all achieve a common goal.
How did you think you would benefit from your involvement?
I thought I would benefit most from learning how to work with all different kinds of people with different personalities. I benefited from having many discussions, both pleasant and unpleasant, and learning how to handle myself maturely through those conversations. Of course, most importantly, I benefited from learning the "ins and outs" of organizing an event.