News

YLT 7 Retreat

By Youth Leadership Tallahassee, 08/01/2010

On July 30-31, the 35 members of the YLT Class 7, representing the public and private high schools in Leon County, encountered a new perception of leadership on their two-day retreat at Camp Weed in Live Oak, Florida. The coordinators and chaperones helped the members discover the true meaning of a leader through activity-packed days of games and workshops. Each exercise during the retreat had its own particular lesson. Whether it was so the class could get to know each other, become better leaders, or learn to work together as a group, there was much more to the activities than just fun and games.

Prior to the retreat, each member had to find out information about another member that they didn't know and introduce them at the retreat, but they couldn't speak with that member. This way the class members could come to the camp already knowing a little about each other. The introductions were very unique. Some members chose to introduce their person through song, some through poems, and others used props to introduce a classmate.

During the weekend, group members were engaged in several activities that forced them to communicate and listen to one another. For example, the class participated in a Trust Walk. In this activity, the class was broken up into different groups and a leader was chosen for each group. The leader had to lead all the members of his or her group through an obstacle course, while the group members were blindfolded. The object was to avoid running into obstacles based on the leader’s directions and the group members’ listening skills. This exercise really helped the students in trusting one another in an important situation.

There were also times when the members could just calm down, talk, and really get to know each other. The first night Class7 had a Karaoke/Board Games night. This gave the members the opportunity to gather and just have fun singing and playing. The room was full of different conversations and laughter. The class really seemed to enjoy meeting new people. And the members weren't the only ones having a good time; the chaperones were also involved. The chaperones led the different activities the class engaged in and enjoyed watching the students having a good time. "It's so amazing to watch this group of very diverse teenagers - people who don't know each other - come together and enjoy themselves while meeting new friends and exploring new ideas," said Julie Lovelace, YLT Program Director.

The activities that allowed the class members to interact with each other were especially popular, since each member comes to the retreat with a different family background and with different customs, and they left the retreat with a group of new friends who are probably totally different from what he or she might be used to. As an example, the class did a diversity exercise where they were given different descriptions of people and the class rated how much they would trust the person based on the description. In the end, the class was told that the backgrounds that were given were actually backgrounds of their chaperones. This showed the members how easy it is to prejudge someone based on their background, and helped the class to remember to look deeper than just the surface: everything someone has done might have more to it than might first seem obvious.

The Youth Leadership Tallahassee program gives the young adults involved a chance to experience different ideas, meet new people, and learn things that they can take with them as they pursue their careers and strive to improve their community. The skills and materials they were given at their retreat should really help them in the long run.YLT Class 7 will participate in several more exciting, learning experiences during their year-long program year.

Go to the YLT website www.youthleadershiptallahassee.com to see photos from the retreat. Just click on the Gallery button and go to the pull down menu - choose YLT Class 7 Retreat.