Last Thursday, B&G Clubbers brought 30 pumpkins, some volunteers, candies packed in beautiful bags and a lot of enthusiasm to the Boys & Girls Club in Lafayette. They were expecting 15 children, but 30 turned up; some were even turned away because there wasn't enough pumpkins to go around.
When I got there, the event was already underway. A few kids were sitting around a long, rectangular table, digging their hands into huge pumpkins, and pulling out all the yucky fiber and sticky seeds. David Loverde was busy walking around handing out scoops for the kids and Mitch was helping him by distributing plastic bags where the kids can dump their gloriously yucky pumpkin seeds.
Katie, Chris and Brandon were in the other room, helping other kids with the carving and getting ready for the games.
I put down my bag and coat and asked David what can I do to help. He seemed a little surprised that I will be helping and was uncertain what task to give to me. I sat down with a kid and started helping him gut a pumpkin.
As I sat there and observed my surroundings, I noticed everyone who saw me "at work" seemed a little surprised. Perhaps it was because they were used to seeing me as their teacher, their instructor, their leader. Whenever I asked them what I should do, or what I can help with, or where I should go for something, they seemed a little hesitant to assign me with a role/task.
But after awhile, everyone got more comfortable calling the shots for the events. It seemed natural that I will be helping out and that I am no longer the one assigning tasks. I have changed, from a leader to a follower. And my students have evolved, from being students to being leaders.
I enjoyed watching the transformation and observing how quickly they move into their roles. Everyone was clear on their responsibilities and carried them out with ease and confidence. Sometimes I feel ashamed for being worried for my students. As this event reminded me, undergraduates are a formidable breed of adults. They are passionate, energetic, has the best networks around, and are learning and applying the latest skills they have acquired from classes. Most formidable of all is that their enthusiasm and optimism have not been tainted by encounters with failures - to them, the world holds many possibilities!
Working amongst the B&G clubbers reminded me of what I used to be in my undergrad years. I was stage manager for a theater group, I was organizing bazaars and donating profits from sales to charity organizations, I was organizing camps for incoming freshmen, i.e. I was doing 5000 things at the same time and I don't recall thinking that I can't do it because Iwas merely an undergrad.
I had a lot of fun letting B&G Clubbers take the lead. In fact, I am very proud of them for stepping up and calling the shots. As the saying goes, if you want to teach a person survival skills, you don't bring the fish to them, you teach them how to fish.
Many times, our roles within a team changes. What is important is that when it comes to your turn to step up to the plate, you take the initiative and embrace your role as a leader and guide your team through the task. Even if there are times when you feel uncomfortable switching roles, you just have to bite the bullet and focus on the task. Be confident, because people look to you for guidance.
On a sidenote, this was my first pumpkin gutting experience! I had a lot of fun pulling out the seeds and fibers with the kids (maybe even more fun than the kids did). I know the group brought more pumpkins and had intended to carve one for me, but the overwhelming responses left me empty handed. I am a little disappointed that I did not have a pumpkin to bring home. BUT what I brought home was the knowledge of how to carve a pumpkin! Yes, I was paying close attention to every step of the project and I have every intention of duplicating it sometime this weekend so I have a carved pumpkin this Halloween. Thank you, team B&G Clubbers for showing me how to do this. I have bought a pumpkin today and the carving tools and I will complete the task tomorrow. If successful, I'll have pictures!
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