Thankful to Lead

It was another great week and I am so excited to tell you all about it! This week my mentor was very busy and I was as well. This weekend I am helping to run my school’s leadership retreat. In life I am making it my goal to not just be another person in the marketing field but a leader as well. Whenever the opportunity arises to be a leader or learn to be a better leader I take it. Last year I was offered a spot on my school's Leadership Retreat Planning Committee. 

The Front Cover of Our Manuals

The class that plans the retreat was difficult, not the work itself but the lack of participation from my peers. Each member of the committee is assigned a small aspect of the retreat to work on so that everything would be done and organized in a timely manner. I was assigned to the Marketing and Design team where I created the logo, manual, and the shirts for the retreat. (Check out our Instagram) I enjoyed making these things and ensured they were done on time. I was proud of my work and it paid off as I got many compliments on the work. I have to admit that I have a problem biting off more than I can chew and I definitely did for this event. Instead of trying to ask the teacher in charge I held myself responsible for the success of the retreat and every little thing that went into it. 

This years attendees

The retreat was actually a huge success. My team and I decided that we wanted to center the retreat around team building. At the event all the students are randomly sorted into groups so that we can build a tight knit community at our school. We filled the event with many group activities that actually bonded the groups. There were outdoor games, relay races, and skits. By the end of retreat my team was laughing, talking and genuinely happy to be with each other. The rest of our time was spent doing pick and choose labs. There are about 2-3 labs per day depending on the student wanting to do a game or one of the other activities. They are hosted by Hilliard Bradley’s own teachers. This is where most of the learning starts. Its a truly wonderful event to be a part of. 

Planning the event proved to be difficult and took a lot of time as myself and two others were doing the bulk of the work. I have to be grateful though for the lessons I was taught through the planning process. I was taught the importance of time management. It proved difficult to plan an event, juggle school, a job, mentorship, and doing things that I enjoy. It taught me to be easier on myself. I have always been an honors student who gets an “A”. This semester has been difficult to juggle all my classes, mentorship, the planning that went into this retreat and having a job on top of everything. My grades have fallen significantly but I can honestly say that I am proud of the work I am producing. I just need to do better at getting it in on time and well done. It has also shown me the importance of teamwork and trust. I saw throughout the planning of this retreat that you must ensure that the team you surround yourself with are willing to put in the work to achieve a common goal. Planning this event has taught me many valuable lessons that I will be able to apply to my future as a leader in the marketing world.

As it is that season I would like to thank you all for taking the time out of your busy schedule to read my blogs! I want to thank my mentors for helping me discover more about the field of marketing and how I could become a leader in it. I also want to thank my family and friends, they always have my back and only want the best for me. They are always there to push me to be the very best version of myself. Failures are the very best way to learn so I am thankful that I have failed many times and proud that I am able to get up and dust myself off everytime. Want to learn how to learn from failure check out this awsome resource. Specifically, I failed to trust my team when planning the retreat because if I would have put in more work and belief in my committee I believe it would have been even more successful. I am truly thankful for this semester and all the lessons I have learned.