Samantha Kerr

Goals:

Goal 1:

• I will be a unit leader for Camp Kesem at SUU.

• I was able to achieve this goal by becoming CPR and first aid certified and attending all necessary camp trainings. 

 

Goal 2:

• I will fundraise $750 for Camp Kesem through posts on Facebook and reaching out to family members and friends.

• I was able to reach this goal by receiving generous donations from my family and neighbors.  

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Outcomes:

Outcome 1:

By completing my goal of becoming a unit leader for Camp Kesem, I helped make camp run smoothly for both the kids and counselors in my unit.  This benefited all of the people at camp because it created a stress free atmosphere where everyone could have fun.

 

Outcome 2:

By completing my fundraising goal of raising $750 I helped pay for myself and a camper’s camp experience.  This benefited myself and the campers because Camp Kesem is a life changing experience provided at no cost to the family.  

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Lessons Learned:

Lessons learned

                  Volunteering at Camp Kesem has been a life changing experience.  The kids attending have amazing strength while their families are going through the worst stressors, and their positivity is contagious.  I feel their personalities rubbed off on me and helped me gain a more positive outlook on life’s struggles.  In addition, I feel like my willingness to be goofy with kids but also be serious when needed helped them feel comfortable in opening up about their parent’s fights with cancer. 

                  From a leadership aspect, I feel my role as a unit leader at camp offered a unique type of experience.  I was not only helping guide my fellow counselors, but also keeping 15 six year olds happy.  I learned I do well creating structure and organization from chaos.  Also, I became better at delegating duties to others when I had too much going on, which is an important leadership skill.

 

Future plans

                  This project taught me a lot about how best to work with children in the future.  I learned sometimes the best way to stop poor behavior in a child is to completely ignore it, which before seemed counterintuitive.  I also learned children are just as, if not more, perceptive as adults so tone and affect are important when communicating.  In the future I will always be aware of these new discoveries when working with children, which should make projects more successful.

                  In the future I will always make a detailed schedule of planned events and make sure everyone is informed.  This project showed me that scheduling is a crucial part of being a successful leader.  Something I would not do again is try to manage everything alone.  Delegating is a skill this project taught me, and I will carry it with me to all future endeavors.  Overall, this project taught me so much about leadership and I am grateful for it.