Learning to Lead
There are times when the information we want to share deserves to occur under a very large spotlight–perhaps even with its own marquee. This is one of those times.
Those who follow district and high school social media posts read references to DEVILSasOne/Students in Action, our high school’s leadership/service initiative and see hashtags like, #This isOurCulture and #Cultureof Caring. We’re very sensitive that no one mistake DEVILSasOne for a school or student club/organization, because that type of reference suggests you must “join” to be involved or participate in activities.
This initiative, as its title explains, exists to include the time and talents of every single Springfield High School student. It has been a student driven, student led and student focused initiative since it first arrived at SHS as a pilot initiative through the national Jefferson Awards Foundation, now rebranded as Multiplying Good. Over the past 10-plus years, the leadership and commitment to serve others found in our students have received significant regional and national attention–consistently honored as “the” or one of the top schools in the nation for many years. Through the DEVILS-asOne/Students in Action framework, the students amassed tens of thousands of service hours each year –thus the moniker “Culture of Caring”–before the pandemic placed a pause on these efforts.
After that two-year pause, the students have been anxious to jumpstart the initiative; to get back to doing what they love, which is putting their passions into action by identifying and filling unmet needs in our community. After all that time, however, we cautioned the student leaders that rather than trying to pick up where they left off in March, 2020, they should revisit “leadership” and spend time exploring their personal talents, aspirations and skills. So, on April 21, every student at SHS was offered the chance to attend Learning to Lead. There were flyers in the hallway, announcements, information shared on district platforms and through Google Classroom. What you will read next is the email to attendees and facilitators from Kristina White, community liaison, who has advised the initiative since its first minute in the district, and who organized and facilitated the workshop:
“At the end of the day it’s not about what you have or even what you’ve accomplished … it’s about who you’ve lifted up, who you’ve made better. It’s about what you’ve given back.” Denzel Washington.
This quote is included in the signature line of each of my email messages–when I first saw it, it reminded me of the person I hope to be. Today, I watched those words come to life as 35 young leaders of today did so much more than “show-up” for a workshop! Together, we all emerged as stronger, more powerful leaders!
Whether your role was as a speaker or participant, you helped create an energy and commitment to changing the culture of Springfield High School to one of servant leadership. We learned together, we served together, and most importantly, we came together as leaders. We learned the importance of 1) Modeling the Way from Mr. Mike Langenderfer from the Countertop Shop; 2) Inspiring a Shared Vision with Mr. Ryan Grooms; 3) Challenging the Process (respectfully disturbing reality) with Mrs. Jessica Mack from the YMCA/parent; 4) Encouraging the Heart from coach Jerry Bell, and 5) Enabling Others to Act (my section on how to communicate and strike down the barriers that stall efforts to serve) followed by student leaders, Eric Fox and Jonah Vercelotti, who were, well, amazing in their efforts to deepen the conversation and raise the commitment of those in the room to do a restart on our culture of caring.
They followed the learning sessions by listening to Wendi Huntley from Connecting Kids to Meals and packing 125 meals in about 20 minutes–all beyond impressive!”
Kristina concluded with these words, “Leading is hard, messy and often complicated. But it is worth it. Today was a great start.”
We share this because too often, the only information that is shared about today’s teenagers is done with a negative slant. We want our readers and the entire region to know there are a lot more positives to be known. Sure, there may be a small percentage of students who make wrong decisions or exhibit poor behavioral choices. Yet, we have the opportunity to watch hundreds of young people gain and flex their leadership muscles–just like the 35 who came in at 8:30 a.m. during their spring break.
Typically, after we share information about DEVILSasOne, Kristina tells us she receives emails from parents asking how their students can join.
Remember, every student is already part of DEVILSasOne just by attending SHS.
However, with their automatic inclusion does come the responsibility to open and read their school emails that contain information and opportunities. Students do have to register for workshops and service projects, choose to attend a leadership meeting and show an interest in leadership opportunities.
We promise there will be many opportunities in the future to learn and to serve.
We are confident because Kristina told us the 35 students who attended the workshop are highly motivated and have already started to talk about plans for the remainder of this year and the next.
No surprise–this is, after all, our “culture of caring.”
