This year was interesting for me
because I had the chance to experience the trip from a different perspective. I
saw service projects from an outside perspective, even if I was participating. My
first priority was always planning and making sure everyone else was having a
fulfilling service trip. It was a difficult balance to not only making sure
everyone was getting the most out of their trip, but also not getting too
caught up in everything so I could enjoy my time as well.
The trip was also about sacrifice.
Spots for volunteering were given up so that others could participate where
they wouldn’t otherwise, among other reasons. Most people assume how simple
planning the trip was by just seeing the complete schedule, but getting there
was a journey in itself.
What does it mean to be a leader?
What is leadership? These are some questions I asked myself before and after my
trip to New York City. I definitely had come to the realization that I wasn’t
going to be perfect and everything wasn’t going to always go as planned, but it
would be OK. A lot of people see what goes on during and after a trip but not
what goes on beforehand to prepare.
Planning consisted of countless phone calls
and emails all the way from Kansas to New York City, all for five days of
service projects. Communication was the most frustrating, yet rewarding, part
of planning. Scheduling service projects for seventeen people to serve at the right
days, times, and venues was also quite a task. Between Catholic Worker,
Transfiguration’s after school kids’ program and food pantry, the Lower East
Side Harm Reduction Center, and Trinity Food Pantry, we had a full schedule on
our hands.
The reward of being the trip leader
this year was seeing everyone have a good time. Hearing everyone tell you that
you did a great job and how they appreciated your work is what it is all about.
You learn a lot about yourself when you are put in charge of a group this large
and have a whole week to organize. Miscommunication happened along the way, as
did other setbacks, but it was all worth it. I learned that in the midst of
drama and struggles, you can push through it all. Everything works out in the
end, and in this case, it most certainly did.
-Vanessa
Jo Sanders
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