Description of the particular experience and goals:

I volunteered as an on-stage member in the farewell of grade 12 that was organized by the school. We were given the responsibility of making the day as memorable as we could for the students. I helped out in planning the performances, choreographing the dances and performing on stage on the day of farewell. I participated in the farewell since I enjoy planning such events and like taking new opportunities.

Learning Outcomes I have catered during this experience:

Learning Outcome 1: Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth

While planning for the event, I learned about my strengths and weaknesses. I found out that I am capable of generating unique ideas. I have the skill of creative thinking and am able to produce innovative ideas. Moreover, I discovered that I can choreograph dances effortlessly that are simple yet eye pleasing. I used my strengths appropriately and tried to help as much as possible. Similarly, I found out my weaknesses. I understood that time management and balancing is not my forte because I found it difficult to balance my responsibilities along with my daily routine. I was lacking in completing other work because I got so involved in the work of farewell. I began to realize that this was hampering my studies hence I decided to work on my weakness. I eventually overcame my weakness and started balancing my work, social life and farewell responsibilities. It was important to understand my weakness in order to work on it and improve myself. 

Learning Outcome 2: Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process

I had a lot of roles in the farewell planning. I had to plan the performances, choreograph, and teach the dances. All my responsibilities took up a lot of time and energy to complete. My roles included hours of physical and mental exertion. By the end of the day, I used to get so tired that I was unable to pay attention to my school work or my social life. Also, I have never done something like this before hence it took time for me to get used to such a busy schedule. Once I began to notice that I was lacking behind in my school work, I realized that I needed to change my routine and balance it. I created a schedule for myself and ate a proper diet so that I can have the energy to do it all. Ultimately, I was able to overcome the challenges that I faced. I believe that it is crucial for us to overcome challenges so that we can improve ourselves. 

Learning Outcome 3: Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience

I was in the performances team in the farewell so I had to plan the entire flow of the performances. Planning was harder than I thought because there were conflicts of opinions and ideas. We were also given a limited amount of time to plan the whole event. Along with the school curriculum, planning such a huge event is a tough task. I think planning bigger events in the future will be easier since I experienced the process of planning this event. I am delighted that I got the opportunity to plan this event since it taught me a lot about how to execute huge events. 

Learning Outcome 4: Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences

Choreographing the dances and practicing on a regular basis required dedication and perseverance. We would make less progress/improvement if we did not commit to and practice on a daily basis. Since it was a group performance, synchronization was essential, and we had to be committed to the practice sessions in order to achieve it. Because I was the choreographer, I had to make sure that I was persistent in order to complete the dance choreography. I believe that commitment and perseverance in any activity is required to achieve progress.

Learning Outcome 5: Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively

Organizing a farewell is not an easy task so we had a lot of people contributing to this experience. There were different teams like the decoration team, the performances team, the music team and more. I was a part of the performances team and had to work with people. It was easy for me to work in teams since I have done group projects previously. I also have a habit of listening to people which worked in my favor in this team project. I did witness clashes of ideas and conflicts during the planning period however we all solved the conflicts together as a team. I find teamwork important since the quality of work increases and the tasks get divided which makes it easier for everyone to give their best in their assigned task. 

Final Takeaway

Volunteering in the farewell taught me the value of balance in my life. It taught me how to balance my workload and manage my time. I was also able to learn how to plan and execute such events. While communicating new ideas to people and sharing my opinions, I developed the learner profile attribute, communicator. I was also open-minded when I listened to opposing viewpoints. Overall, this experience aided my personal development and provided me with new skills.

Evidence of volunteering