A summary of your completed team project:

My group, the education and empowerment group, was able to raise money for a non-profit and collect items they needed. We started our project by selecting a DC based organization that we felt we could support in some way. Our group made the decision to partner with SOUL which helped underprivileged student athletes in the DC area. Once we partnered with them we met with them to decide what their needs were and how we could help them. For us it was important that we were making an impact in DC students lives especially during the pandemic. SOUL was open to almost anything we came up with, so we finally decided on a GOFUNDME and Amazon Wish List. The GOFUNDME was connected directly to SOUL where people could donate as much as they liked. The Amazon Wish List allowed for people to buy specific athlete equipment for the students at SOUL. Our amazing group member Grace Zepolis had the items delivered to her and once all the products were received they were transferred over to SOUL.

 

A reflection on your growth as a leader at American University this past academic year:

Throughout middle school and high school I was always drawn towards being a leader. That’s why I decided to apply into American University’s SPA Leadership Program. I wanted to continue to grow as a leader and be in a community with others who shared that same desire. I always wanted to learn how to work well with other leaders. Having a whole class full of leaders and no followers is a challenge, but one I wanted to face. Now that I have been in the program for a full academic year I feel more confident in my leadership abilities. It was great to gain experience working closely with other students and leaders towards a goal of making a positive impact on our community. I was able to gain a better understanding of how I myself like to go about a service project. I feel prepared as a student and a leader to take on my service project next year by myself.  

   

A reflection on the team dynamics of your group during the implementation phase of your project:

Our group almost worked extremely well together. There was good communication and awareness of others actions. During the research phase we were able to build trust and group as a group in preparation for the physical project. When it came to making decisions regarding our project, everyone voiced their opinions and listened to others. If anyone had new ideas we were always more than willing to somehow make them work in the project. Everyone was focused on reaching our goals and making any impact we could in the community. This drive from all of us made it easy to get the project rolling and ultimately produce a successful service project. I am very proud of how our team kept the dynamic strong and focused, even through zoom.