The first full day of SHW is under our belt! After parents left on Sunday,, delegates got a tour of the campus and played ice-breaking games with their teams.  Then they had their first workshop, “What Is Leadership?,” where they explored the concept of leadership and how it applies to them. They also identified leaders in their lives and discussed characteristics of good leadership.

After dinner in the dining hall, delegates were treated to a decades-old MLW tradition called Visions, a candle-light ceremony held outdoors after dark. Delegates sat in silence while staff members, one at a time, recited a poem or song lyrics that has meaning to them personally. This provided delegates an opportunity to learn a little more about their staffers, and it was a nice way to settle down after a very active day.

This morning after breakfast, delegates enjoyed their very first Morning Sing of the week! The purpose of Morning Sing is to get delegates energized and excited first thing in the morning before we start our formal activities of the day.

Yesterday was the beginning of Workshops Round One:

  • Self Awareness: Delegates explored their personal strengths leadership styles and core values, and discovered how they can all be used to discover their passions in life.

  • Connections: Delegates identified their own personal communication style, learned how to use it to foster positive peer relationships, identified support systems in their personal and professional lives, and learned how to rely on support systems to overcome barriers.

  • Problem-Solving and Innovation: Delegates learned about different conflict management styles, broke down the decision-making process, and applied the Creative Thinking model.

After lunch, delegates met with their Regions for the first time. They were introduced to all the delegates at the camp from their county/region. They played get-to-know games to begin with, then shared what they considered various strengths of their county or region. This committee will, by the end of the week, identify issues that impact their region and work towards creating solutions.

Delegates then spent time with their teams working on their REALITY project. Each group has a different project to work on either in partnership with a non profit or advocating for a cause.

Prior to dinner, we held our first seminar called “Being a People Person.”  This seminar built upon the morning’s “Connections” workshop. Delegates learned how to make a good first impression, they created their own personal “elevator speech,” and talked about the importance of coming out of their comfort zone to meet new people.

After dinner, delegates had what typically turns out to be everyone’s favorite activity every day – Tuning –  where they worked in small groups with out staff to set their S.M.A.R.T. goals for the week, leading to the creation of stretch goals for when they get home.

Last, they got to blow of steam at our Monday Night Activity (affectionately known as MONA) where they played fun games. Staff took this time to observe how delegates work, play, and solve problems together.

More tomorrow!