Student Leadership Experience
Submitted by: Kori Kissinger, HPEC Student Leadership Grant Recipient
On September 24th to
September 27th of this year, the Saskatchewan Physical Education
Association hosted a Student Leadership Experience at Dallas Valley Ranch in
Lumsden Saskatchewan. The goal of this annual conference is to teach students
about leadership and what exactly it means to be a leader. Students are
challenged emotionally, physically, mentally and socially during the week in
order to grow and learn more about themselves. Each year, students participate
in physical challenges and view presentations that will challenge what they
know about leadership. Throughout this experience students are grouped with
mentors who guide them through the week, sharing their knowledge, guidance and
support.
I was fortunate enough to
participate in the conference this year. Working with students and leaders from
across Canada, I was challenged to take a look at the kind of leader I want to
be. I was pushed to work with individuals I had never met in order to
accomplish common goals. This atmosphere took me out of my comfort zone and
forced me to look at myself as a leader. On the first night, we were
immediately split up into groups with students from a variety of universities.
Being separated from my group of friends immediately pushed me to communicate
with new individuals and build quick relationships. In these groups we were
asked to complete challenges on high rope and low rope courses. We were also
asked to go canoeing as a group, where some of us were challenged to paddle and
work together while blindfolded. Once in the middle of the pond, those of us
who were blindfolded were asked to put our trust in the group to guide us as we
switched canoes with another blindfolded individual. By the end of this
experience I had put my trust in complete strangers, jumped off a 15-foot log,
and gained the confidence to lead a group through a variety of tasks.
The conference also provided opportunity to
hear presentations from many experienced leaders who joined us from across
Canada. Reg Leidl, Andrea Ward, and Stu Robbins inspired and engaged us all
with their stories and years of experience. Each of these mentors provided hour
long presentations where they told us about their experience as teachers and
administrators. Each speaker brought with them a unique history and various
stories to help illustrate what being a leader means to them. Further, we had
the opportunity to listen to four other speakers in a casual setting around the
campfire. Jen Buettner, Darla Armstrong, Justin Oliver, and Lisa Manzini opened
up to us as a group to share their stories. They were asked to present when
they were first seen as a leader, what their biggest struggle has been, and one
piece of advice for us students moving forward. Their vulnerability and honesty
was incredibly inspiring and meant so much to myself and many others in the
room.
After attending the Student
Leadership Experience, I only wish that I had known about it sooner. If I had
known about this conference, there is no doubt that I would have been attending
it for the past four years. I would highly recommend this experience to any
students looking to learn more about themselves and leadership. It is a great
place to create connections and network with educators all across Canada. I
have learned so much from this experience that I would never have got sitting
in a classroom. I will use the advice and stories I heard throughout the week
to help guide and inspire me as I grow into the leader I want to be.
