Hey everybody! Things are looking quite jolly in Summit 1315 this month. We have definitely been spreading the Christmas cheer around our apartment, and all of us are super excited to get to go home soon. This month has marked the end of our volunteer hours at Lighthouse, and we will be hosting our last Lighthouse/Drury partnership event of the semester this Saturday. We invited the kids and their families to the Springfield Symphony Christmas concert on Saturday at 2 in the O’Reilly Center and are planning on having some sort of holiday refreshments afterward, so that should be a great end to the semester.
The best experience I had with Lighthouse this semester was definitely the Fall Festival. It was so rewarding to see our event become a success and to see how much fun the kids were having. I really feel like we were able to offer them a unique opportunity and help the Drury community become closer to the Springfield community. The toughest experiences with the agency this semester have been communication issues. There have been some instances of miscommunication that have had to be straightened out. I think in the spring semester we will be doing a lot of organizing, since Lighthouse is moving locations over Christmas break. They will probably use our help to get settled into their new building and also to simply help out in the classrooms again. We want to have one more event for the kids in the spring, such as an Easter celebration.
Due to the Summit Leadership Experience, I have definitely improved my skills in working in a group. I have learned to address conflicts as they arise and how to communicate better with the members of my group. Additionally, I have learned the myriad of things involved in coordinating an event and also the importance of communication when planning something on a large scale. I have also improved my time management skills due to the number of things I have to complete for this class, such as volunteering and Stress Free Now.
For me, the highlights of the Wellness program were definitely yoga and the massages. I enjoyed learning different relaxation techniques, and it broadened my perspective on things. The lowlights of the programs were the amount of time they required. Stress Free Now was actually very stressful, because our grade was based on the completion of the relaxation exercises, and honestly, I didn’t always have time to complete them. I would suggest not requiring students to complete five exercises a week. I think two or three times of trying a particular technique would have been sufficient.
Well, that’s all until next year! I’m so excited to go home for Christmas break and to take our swim team training trip to Hawaii at the beginning of January! Merry Christmas! :)
Molly Brown
Molly Brown
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