This week was pretty eventful in regards to service learning. On Friday, March 30, the women's studies department hosted LOL (Lead Out Loud) on UCF campus. We had a good number of students visit our campus from local elementary and middle schools, where they completed activities and participated in seminars and role-playing. My hours extended from 8am until 3pm (7 hours), as I arrived early and left campus at 2 pm to bring the remainder of the lunches and snacks to the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida downtown.
All in all, I enjoyed the day, however the event was rather unorganized (though I can't say that I would have done a better job myself). The available time, event planners, access, and funds is unknown to me and from what I observed, it appeared to be students running the show. I really respected the young women leaders who took part in planning and hosting the event, as they did their part in teaching others, in this case youth, about the devastating effects of bullying and ways to prevent bullying in schools and at home. Some recommendations for a similar future event could include a compacted list of volunteer responsibilities, stations, agenda, etc. and a short hour or so briefing of the scheduled events and expectations of the day beforehand. I felt like there were many volunteers ready and willing to help but were not quite sure how they could help or what to do. Besides being a bit chaotic, I thought the young women in charge, especially Nicole, did a great job of trying to get things quickly organized and everyone involved. Meredith Tweed also stepped in and helped the process along tremendously.
I could see the excitement on the children's faces as they toured the campus. They were ecstatic to be hanging out with college kids and exploring our huge campus. This is what I feel is the most important. Simply getting involved in these kids' lives can make a huge impact on the way they view bullying in schools. They look up to us as university students and I feel it is our duty to set a good example for our future generations. I also stress the importance of the students seeing females running the event in positions of leadership. If young girls do not see women in positions of power or as leaders, how are they to see themselves as leaders?
And as we begin to question current, masculine definitions of leadership, we can see the importance of women taking positions as leaders. Women offer and enforce different qualities to the rigid structural concepts of what defines success, leadership, etc. As stated in Marie Wilson's Closing the Leadership Gap, "The core of what women bring to leadership- a tendency toward greater inclusiveness, empathy, communication up and down hierarchies, focus on broader issues- makes stronger government and richer business." (Pg 6).
Once again, this involvement and new observation of myself as a possible leader has added value to my life. I have confidence of being able to start some sort of program, with the collaboration and help from others of course. It felt good to spend time with kids that I didn't even know, and to be able to be in the position where they would see me as a mentor of sorts. It felt good to drive up to the homeless shelter and be able to offer food to people who needed it. So, what I guess I am trying to say is, it feels good to give back and get involved in the community in a positive light and that is what my service learning experience has brought to my life.
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