[HCInteract] Service Learning Summit

[view Instagram @servicelearningsummit]

SLS, Service Learning Summit, was an event that I chaired when I was a member of HCInteract. It was the first time we hosted the event and was definitely not an easy feat to pull off. Reaching more than 11 schools and 100s of students, the event hoped to nudge students to explore their ‘purpose’ of service so that they can engage in more meaningful community work.

To me, “purpose” has always been very difficult to define and put into words. Perhaps it’s because I’m not particularly eloquent or well-versed, but part of it also stems from the fact that sometimes volunteering is really just a calling. It’s like when you stand under the Sun and you feel warm, you don’t really question why. It just is.

However, our team believed that for some, such an experience would definitely be meaningful. We saw how many students did VIA just for the CIP hours on their portfolio, or just for the additional points that could help them enter the junior college of their choice. Sure, there isn’t anything wrong with that, as long as they do their job well and nobody is harmed in the process, but at the same time, it also wastes the opportunities that volunteering brings about. Sitting through the volunteering process just for the hours means that one may not be able to engage as well with their beneficiary, and hence lose out on the opportunity to learn more about their community. With this in mind, our team wanted to host an event to encourage others to start that journey of self-discovery.

Planning an event from scratch with no seniors’ work to refer to was a rather nerve-wracking experience. As a team leader, I had to trust my own instincts and my prior experience planning events. Throughout the entire process, I consciously asked for feedback from my team to see if I could help them with the workload that was building up, seeing as my team also had to balance the hectic academic responsibilities that come with being a typical JC student. I learnt to actively seek feedback from my friends to point out my blind spots, while also ensuring that active communication occurred between myself and the team so that no one was left behind and clueless.

The working process wasn’t a perfect one. There were things that could have been done better - for example, better communication between the 2 sub-comms so that each team knew what the other was doing - but I think the experience was an enjoyable one for everyone. It was in this working team that I learnt how to be a better leader and a more effective communicator.

If I had to choose my main takeaway from this, I would say it's the importance of setting a common goal for your team and letting your team enjoy working on the project despite whatever difficulties may arise. I wanted my team to also know their purpose in seeing this event bear fruit, and more importantly, I wanted my team to learn and grow in the process as well. With these 2 guiding principles, I think I really became a better leader in the process, and this was also one of the most bonded teams that I have ever led in planning an event.

SLS would not have been such a success without any of my team members, so way to go @SLSOT!