Project Reports and Reflection

EDGE has been a long process for me. I took the first class in the first semester of my freshman year. Now, in my last semester of my senior year, I am finally done. The end has been a long time coming, but I gained a lot from the experience of designing and carrying out my own project.

For my project, I decided on the leadership track. I wanted to plan and implement activities for the Canyon Creek Women’s Crisis Center Kids’ Group. There were two primary motivations behind this choice. First, I wanted a project that would help people in the community meaningfully. As a future human services professional, the wellbeing of others has always been important to me. Volunteering at the Crisis Center was a convenient way of accomplishing this. Second, I wanted a project that would help me to stand out amongst my fellow psychology majors. Service is a common EDGE track in that major, and service is definitely important. However, I surmised that engaging in service from a leadership angle would allow me to stand out and be more effective in delivering aid.

Although the EDGE process is filled with repetitive steps and busy work, the overall process of my project was quite simple. I first talked to Andrea Donovan about my ideas and options. She helped me get started with the Crisis Center since she works with them. I then participated in the training required of all volunteers, which lasted a full day. After the training, I started volunteering at the shelter and the Kids’ Group to better understand their processes. During this time, I completed the second EDGE course and planned my project. I met with the Kids’ Group coordinator, and she agreed that I could plan and lead activities. Although she was replaced with a head volunteer and the organization changed, I was able to complete my project with little alteration. Through the summer and Fall 2017, I worked on my project by actively leading and planning activities for the weekly Wednesday meetings. After each meeting, I posted on my blog about the experience. After twenty weeks, I signed up for the final EDGE class, which I bring to a close with this reflection.

I had three goals for this project and I achieved all of them. First, I had a goal to create meaningful activities for the Kids’ Group. This required that I spent time researching, planning, and assembling activities, attend planning meetings, and get to know the children I was helping. My second goal was to implement and lead the activities. I came early, left late, delegated as needed, and introduced the activities to the children. My third and final goal was to volunteer for twenty weeks at the Kids’ Group. Although it took longer than I expected, I accomplished this goal as well.

I was fortunate to see all of the outcomes of my project come to fruition. I developed leadership skills. I am still seeing my growth in this area, which I will touch on later. I was able to identify and better understand my career goals. My interest in school psychology was reaffirmed, and I became better prepared for graduate school. Additionally, I gained real world experience and was able to apply the concepts I learned in class. Finally and most importantly, I was able to entertain children in a safe environment. I loved to see them leave with a smile every night I volunteered. If that was the only outcome, it would be enough.

This project required the use of several skills. I used communication, time management,  and delegation skills. Through my use of these, I also made improvements in each. I became a better communicator because the position required that I coordinate with other volunteers, who were all from different backgrounds and ages, as well as the children. I also posted each of my lessons and reflections on the blog. This improved my written communication skills. The project also helped me learn to better manage my time. I have always been a punctual person, but until now, I have had very little experience managing and planning for activities with multiple people in a finite amount of time. I became more aware of just how long two hours is for a group of kids. Additionally, I became a better delegator. My temptation has always been to do it myself to make sure it gets done. I made it one of my personal goals to share responsibility with the other volunteers, even if I was just relying on them to bring supplies for the activity. Related to this, I learned to step back and let others take charge. This was especially important when other volunteers planned their own activities. Learning to let others take charge and be a supporter rather than a backseat driver will probably help me the most in the workforce.

Even though skills matter a great deal, I am also indebted to this project for teaching me valuable insights about leadership. I learned that everyone has a different style of leading. Some people lead by example, others use directives, some are like puppeteers and lead from the background. There are advantages and disadvantages to each method, but none of these are more right or wrong than the other.  My style was not any better than the other volunteers’. Additionally, there is more to leadership than traditional roles like president or manager. Someone can be a leader without a title. Furthermore, leadership does not necessarily require power. Finally, I learned that leadership is just as much about helping others as it is about helping yourself. Even though I set out to help others, I learned and grew in myself from the challenge of the position.

Frankly, I think SUU requires EDGE because it makes the university stand out amongst its competitors. I am sure this is highly cynical, but it is the truth as I see it. However, the requirement does have benefits for the students. It is an excellent resume builder, and I found the experience helpful in my graduate school admissions interviews. It also promotes self-directed, intentional learning, which is vital to us once we are no longer college students. Because it is helpful, I will not complain about the requirement.

For my EDGE project, I planned and implemented activities at the Canyon Creek Women’s Crisis Center Kids’ Group. I picked the project to help others and myself. I accomplished all my goals and saw many positive outcomes throughout the process. My skills improved, and I learned about the nature of leadership. I am glad I did it, and I am glad I am done.