Hearing my name announced, I was secretly thrilled. I typically shun attention, especially when directed at me personally. Yet, learning that my peers elected me to the Order of the Arrow (OA), Boy Scout’s National Honor Society, for exemplifying the Scout Oath and Law in my daily life, I beamed. This moment, however, passed when I was asked to be the Senior Patrol Leader (SPL), the group’s youth leader at summer camp. I should have felt honored, yet dread filled me.
I love camping - thrilled by the challenge of the environment and enthralled by the beauty of nature - but not paperwork. As SPL, I run our campsite - manage classes, chores and conservation project for 26 people for a week. After seeking counsel, I prepared. While tedious,
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The storm started forming Monday, as rousing the troop felt like waking the dead. We arrived late for the opening flag ceremony. Supported by a great assistant leader and two patrol leaders, we managed (barely) for everyone to start their activities on-time across the 4,800 acre camp.
I breathed deeply, proceeding to my activities, determined to keep perspective.
By nightfall, everyone was exhausted and awaiting a good night’s sleep. Mother Nature had other plans. A torrential thunderstorm, a solid “red” on the radar, pounded our camp. The sound amplified through the heavy canvas tents. The mature oak trees eerily groaned as the strong Lake Michigan winds snapped branches. Great flashes of lightning lit up the sky like day, followed by the deafening thunder. Boys were scared, amplifying any homesickness. We addressed each situation individually and relished the sun’s rays the next morning. I learned to weather the storms, no matter how rough, and embrace each new day.
A lost Scout temporarily closed the camp and a boy who shot an illegal slingshot through the bathroom wall tested my leadership, and when adult escalation is warranted. I witnessed great team work when I departed for OA initiation, reflecting during my twenty-hour without speaking while performing community
Just a few days prior, the Catalyst Color Guard, the team of which I am currently captain, won the Texas Color Guard Circuit State Championships. We earned the highest score in the 10-year history of our program after an incredibly successful season. What enabled us to succeed this past season was the leadership. As a junior and first lieutenant, I felt more confident in my own leadership skills and experience, and I was better equipped to serve my team this year. Our improved leadership style and work ethic improved our team as a whole. Our score increased with each
I came in clueless a week before bandcamp, not knowing anyone in guard or anyone in band. When I got to bandcamp I honestly thought Mr.Plott was Mr.Martinez until we got to marching block. Thus I was even more confused; upon me joining I was warned by someone that the guard was social suicide and that we had a negative rap within the band. As time went on I became closer to sticking to guard kids rather than the band but noticed the few who upperclassmen who enjoyed us. Sophomore year we had a lot of drama I tended to stray away and not get involved as I don't want to ever be the cause or a part of drama considering it's unnecessary and an inconvenience to the team, negative effects cause us not to work as a whole. I started around this time to chat with the lower grades about guard and band making friends with them, by centering most of my school projects around guard I tried to clear our rap and show the guard I know to push a positive attitude onto the image. As a junior and almost senior the guards viewed by my peers in class as a cool and interesting way to express ourselves and the band kids respect the guard. Im confident in the guard not creating drama considering how close we've gotten. Of course we were always close but the difference between ayshas grade and up from nina's down was very evident to us and created a border for us to get as close as we are now. Im proud to be a part of this
Please provide examples of how your organization has created opportunities for youth leadership during the reporting period. (500 word count maximum)
The morning could not come early enough for young Charles, who awoke before anyone else in the small cabin had roused from sleep. At first light, he noticed that the sky was dark and dreary when he returned from the outhouse. Bluish-black, weighty clouds hung low on the horizon and thunder rumbled in the distance. In his mind, Charles saw him and his mother walking through a storm- it was thundering and lightning; rain fell so heavily, they could barely see five feet in front of them. Crestfallen, Charles surely thought it was going to be a stormy, rain-swept day as he waited on the front porch for his mother to wake and the sun to continue rising. When it did, the dark clouds dissipated and the sky turned brilliant blue. A very mild breeze blew; with it, it carried a bouquet of honeysuckle, Ligustrum, and crepe jasmine… It was going to be a beautiful day on the mountain; Charles smiled.
To no surprise, I am late to sign up for the Cadet Officer Leadership Program, just like everything else. After a year of the seniors battering me with the grand legacy of my brother Babatunde, an everlasting shadow that was believed I would forever suffocate under, I have been forced to sign up for a six day summer camp under the ROTC program, the Cadet Officer Leadership Program, aka COLP. Israel, a ninth grader drowning from the timidness of speaking to people, is being battered again for not applying to the Leadership Program on time. Oh, there was a preparatory academy for the camp? Although I ask this question, I lie to avoid being lectured and compared about the greatness of my brother again. Despite my super strategic step-ahead thinking,
Leadership. Such a straightforward term, yet it brings the connotation of importance when I consider its direct impact on my life. Leaders are those who empower others through a collaborative effort between both the leader and the people being led. A leader presents him or herself with a selfless attitude, enthusiasm to coach and enable, and the communication skills to do so effectively. As John Quincy Adams, a former President of the United States, once stated perfectly, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.”
We stood on the porch of the small cabin that housed the rangers stationed at the camp. The water came streaming down from the roof, pouring in from all sides of the cabin, flooding the camp in a matter of minutes. The mud was cold, and covered everything, finding ways to seep into our boots and socks, past our jackets, soaking us and chilling us to the bone. A large rush of water came spilling down the mountains on both sides as well as from the already saturated meadow behind us. The dry streambed that ran along the side of the camp was no longer visible. What had been a 7-foot wide, 5-foot deep culvert had quickly turned into a fast moving, muddy river. The water coming down from the top of the mountains behind the culvert was simply going
Living in Oklahoma, it was okay to never listen to the weatherman on the news. There were “lethal ice-filled calamities” that only seemed to cause slight harm to the cable wires that hung from the poles. Then there were “days of effervescent sunshine” that carried some of the most detrimental thunderstorms known to man. When David Payne predicted the lesser of evils accurately, my grandma would drag me outside to sit on the front porch with a small radio and some cards, captivated by the storm. Initially, I would cower behind her dress, but I slowly came to embrace the sounds and senses, only to be rewarded with overpowering scents of euphoric tranquility. Additionally, there were times that she’d take me outside when I was crying or sleepy.
Narrator: Welcome to camp! The sun is shining, the lake is sparkling, the trees are tall and the Program Aides are singing. What could possibly go wrong in such a beautiful place?!
The years of hard work and dedication have finally paid off. As I stand with the scoutmaster in front of me, and the audience behind my back, I feel like this accomplishment will not only help me develop as a leader, but also as a person. Becoming an eagle scout is more than a badge and a rank; it is a sense of duty and fulfillment that I have sought for so many years and am finally able to achieve. From Cub Scout to Eagle Scout, like adolescence to adulthood, this momentous occasion symbolizes my entrance into a new world and my readiness to tackle the challenges it has in store for me.
It was with great hesitation that I signed my form to attend a camping retreat and dropped it into the assigned mail box. Although the idea of a retreat sounded wonderful, the word camping in front of it was less than appealing. The last time I had gone into the woods for a retreat that was supposed to be a bonding experiences in the woods, I came out with more bug bites than worthwhile experiences. It was cold and rainy, I was with people that lacked the desire to make any real connections, and I was convinced that on a camping trip past a middle school age would not...
I had an amazing time and made many new friends. I was inspired to apply, and become a Junior Counselor the next summer. I have never worked so hard on an application, but in my mind I knew what my goal was, and I was willing to work as hard as I could to achieve it. The work paid off, because in February I received a call and heard that I would be a Junior Counselor at RYLA 2015! My emotions soared. JC’s are supposed to be confident, strong leaders who are the best version of themselves at all times, yet there I was, terrified. Those imperfections and anxious thoughts raced back, and I didn’t believe in myself enough to know what I could do. But that changed starting July 25th, the first day of RYLA. In one short week, my confidence skyrocketed. The transition from childhood to adulthood within me was crystal clear. As a JC, I led a team of twelve teenagers, from all over Colorado. I grew close to each one of them, while learning about their stories and lives. I know that each one of them changed me in a way that I will never forget. Throughout the week we hiked, attempted all sorts of team building exercises, created cheers, and improved skits and dances. Through each moment I felt my leadership skills build, and I watched my team bond closer together. My favorite activity was called, “personal achievements”, where we all shared about adversities we had
Each year, thousands of people throughout the United States choose to spend their summer vacations camping. Depending on individual sense of adventure, there are various types of camping to choose from, including log cabin camping, recreational vehicle camping and tent camping. Of these, tent camping by far requires the most "roughing it," and with proper planning can be very gratifying. However, even the with the best planning, tent camping can be an extremely frustrating experience due to uncontrolled factors such as bad weather, wildlife encounters and equipment failure.
The sunset was not spectacular that day. The vivid ruby and tangerine streaks that so often caressed the blue brow of the sky were sleeping, hidden behind the heavy mists. There are some days when the sunlight seems to dance, to weave and frolic with tongues of fire between the blades of grass. Not on that day. That evening, the yellow light was sickly. It diffused softly through the gray curtains with a shrouded light that just failed to illuminate. High up in the treetops, the leaves swayed, but on the ground, the grass was silent, limp and unmoving. The sun set and the earth waited.
I still remember my ‘bridging over’ ceremony, where we cross a bridge to go from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. I joined Boy Scouts, and, honestly, it was hard. The many ranks were shown to me, and at the time, I couldn’t believe the possibility of ever even getting my first rank. Yet, that did happen. The first rank now is Scout, yet when I joined, Scout wasn’t a rank. My first rank was Tenderfoot. It involved many different skills, including camping, cooking, first aid, and leadership. I also started working on merit badges. As I grew, my next rank came to me. Second Class.