As a recent graduate of the Dayton Regional STEM School (DRSS), I plan on enrolling in a university and earning a bachelor’s degree and two associate degrees in the fields of Chemistry, Chinese, and Technical Theatre. I currently do not know which subject will be my Bachelor’s degree and as a result I cannot accurately describe what I plan to do after graduating from college.

 

During my four years at DRSS, I have grown significantly in my ability to socialize with and work alongside of many different groups of people. While at DRSS I have worked with teachers, city managers, senators, air force officers, and a variety of students from different countries and backgrounds, just to name a few. Each group requires a different approach to how you collaborate with them and some are easier to work with than others. Finding that happy middle ground is key to working with people who are a tad bit volatile.

 

The Matthew’s Bill Project is a good example to help demonstrate the growth of my ability to work with other people. For this project, we had to work with many different officials, such as heads of organizations and senators. Proving to these officials that we were serious about getting this bill passed required that we rise to their level of professionalism and portray ourselves as mature young adults who wanted to make a difference in the lives of the many people and families who live with disabilities.

 

Another project that is a good example of my growth is my internship as a youth staff member for the Tecumseh Council Youth Leadership Training course (NYLT). NYLT is a week-long course for older Boy Scouts that is designed to teach them how to be effective leaders in their troops and in their community. Some people say that dealing with little kids is hard; try dealing with about 40 teenage boys for a week outside in the weather where they have to be responsible for everything that needs to be done to take care of themselves while teaching them skills that some could care less about. Add in a few kids with mental disabilities and you have a recipe for a wonderful week. However, they still have a great time because of how they all get to work and have fun as a team; with both the people in their patrol and with the staff.

 

As a staff member, I had to continuously change how I worked with the participants depending on the situation. At some points, we are part of the group and we treat everyone as equals, so our moods are much easier going and it allows the participants to get to know us. At other times, the staff acts as an executive unit and we have moods that are much more serious and shows that we expect the participants to follow directions. I originally had a very hard time switching roles fast enough to maintain control, but after this course I have learned how to adapt my methods to a situation to allow myself to best collaborate with both the participants and the staff to ensure the success of the course.

 

These two projects provide just a quick look at how my ability to work with others has improved over the course of my high school career. For more examples of my growth, click the link below to view more of my projects and experiences.