The first place I volunteered this semester was from 9-12pm on August 25th, 2018 at Indianola Informal K-8, a member of the Columbus City School District that serves the community by providing transportation for students to and from school, educating them in the classroom, and also teaching them about how to garden and the pros about fresh produce. While I was there, I weeded their garden and placed mulch around the plants. As a result of this, I learned that I am very dedicated to a task until it is finished. There was a root I couldn’t get loose, but I kept working at it until it was out. As a leader, I worked with other people and bonded with them as we gardened, learning about the importance of getting along well with the people you work with. Because of service learning I am more knowledgeable of how to garden and how to point out different types of plants.

https://www.ccsoh.us/indianolainformalk8

The second place I volunteered at was with an organization called Kind Columbus here on campus at Jesse Owen’s South from 10:00pm-1:00am. Kind Columbus partnered with a group called The Pack Shack who’s vision is to provide food, personal hygiene items, and other personal needs to those who cannot afford those basic needs. The event was called “Feed the Funnel” where we packed 100,000 meals in just two hours which will then be sent to our neighbors here in Columbus and throughout Ohio who are food insecure. While some people filled the bags with food such as rice, dried vegetables, and soy, my role was to seal the bags and hand them off to people to pack into boxes. From this event, I learned that I truly have a passion of helping those in our community who cannot meet the basic needs of food and personal hygiene items and that I want to further that drive into my future. This volunteering experience impacted me as a leader in the sense that, since the event was late at night, I ramped up my energy and kept the people around me motivated to keep doing their task, though at times it seemed monotonous. Because of service learning I am driven to find something that I am passionate about and am eager to find ways to carry that passion into my future.

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The third place I volunteered at this semester was at Water Station 12 at mile 17.3 of the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Columbus Marathon on October 21st, 2018 from 7:00am-12:00pm. The Columbus Marathon raises money that all gets donated to Columbus Children’s Hospital to help fund pediatric cancer research. At this service event, I filled water and Gatorade cups and then handed them out to the runners as they ran by throughout the duration of the race. As a result of this service, I learned that I love encouraging people as I handed out water to each runner that came by. I was so excited and happy the whole time and definitely found joy in being part of the behind the scenes of the race. This has impacted me as a leader in the sense that if a job needs to get done, no matter what the situation is, it will get done. For example, all of the water cups needed to get filled, and even though it was extremely cold outside, I knew they weren’t going to fill themselves so I stepped up and filled them, not taking a break until everything was set. Because of service learning I am able to work through tough conditions and finish all of the behind the scenes work in order to get things ready for the main event itself.
http://www.columbusmarathon.com

The fourth place I volunteered at was Rock City Church on November 17th in Short North from 12:00-5:00pm. Rock City is a church who’s goal is to reach out to people in the community who don’t belong to a church and provide them with a place where they can practice religion. While we were there, we helped prepare the church for a Thanksgiving meal that would take place that coming week. In particular, we organized their kitchen, cleaned the tables and chairs, got gift bags and filled them with personal hygiene items, and then we finished by going out to members in our community and inviting them to this Thanksgiving meal. While doing this service, I learned how blessed I am to have a family to go home to who can provide myself with shampoo, soap, and a wonderful Thanksgiving meal. I’ve always taken these luxuries for granted, but seeing how not everyone has this opportunity to them makes me feel grateful for what I have. I have been impacted as a leader in the aspect of being able to speak to other people who I don’t know when I directly invited a family to come to the dinner.
http://rockcitychurch.tv/shortnorth

The fifth place I volunteered at was the Hot Chocolate Run on November 18th from 5:30-12:00 in downtown Columbus. It is a race that raises money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a program that helps provide life-changing trips to children with life-threatening illnesses. I learned about this service opportunity through my suite who all wanted to be part of it. While I was there, I stacked cups on top of hot chocolate jugs for people who in turn filled them with hot chocolate to hand out to the runners. Through this experience, I learned that there is a lot of behind the scenes work that has to be done in order for an event as large as the Hot Chocolate Run to function properly. I did not work directly with any of the runners or add any components to the chocolate bowls they received, but without my job, the whole process would be a lot slower and more stressful. As a result of this, I learned to look around and to appreciate the community around me. During the service itself, I was standing on a stool stacking the cups so it was easy for me to look around at everyone doing their part. People were smiling, clapping and congratulating the runners as they came up to the tent, and this made the environment much more inviting and welcoming. As a leader, I have become more observant of how people are doing in the workplace and how many parts need to come together to make an event successful. Because of service learning, I am more attentive to how large systems need to come together and how there are many parts that come together to accomplish a common goal.
https://www.hotchocolate15k.com/columbus

To me, leadership is being a servant leader by being an example of how to act and work together. This can be done by putting others before yourself in order to accomplish a common goal or task.

One time I have seen leadership in the context of sport or wellness was when I played volleyball my freshmen year in high school. Being on the freshmen team, it was very easy for us to not put in 100% effort because we didn’t know how the program was run. However, the captains and teammates on JV and Varsity alike lead us by being examples of how to push others to do their best and how to be accountable, not only for being on time for practice, but also by making sure we didn’t waste time during water breaks. The captains were focused, helped the team work together, and also made sure everyone was okay both physically and mentally. They didn’t do this in a rude or self-centered way, but they were very respectful and approachable in the way they did it. As I grow in my leadership skills, I hope to take things I learned from my volleyball program and incorporate them into my day to day life.

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