It is a common thought that young people today are lacking essential leadership skills. We are often referred to as entitled and reliant on others to do work for us. Improving our leadership skills when we are young is one way that we can become more successful later in life. This summer I was able to enhance my abilities as a Striker Leader in a unique and eye opening way. Traveling to Costa Rica and running a summer camp for local children taught me the foundation for many skills that I hope to improve on as I grow older and mature. I most distinctly increased my sense of Compassion. Being surrounded by young Tico children, willing to try anything, changed my perspective on how to take every opportunity possible with a positive attitude and demeanor. I also gained essential networking skills by aligning myself with people from various places and backgrounds. I also learned how to have a strong Presence and the importance of Courage in leadership. Being put in front of kids who speak a language completely different from my own and being expected to have authority over them taught me that confidence is key and that in order to be successful, you have to apply yourself to the given situation as much as possible. My Curiosity was sparked by learning about a culture full of new and interesting things and ideas. I learned discipline and a sense of Conviction by being given a sense of independence and responsibility. It was our job to run the camp, and if we weren’t fully committed, it would not be successful. Finally, this trip began to build my sense of Purpose, something that I hope to grow and develop as much as possible. Seeing the smiles on the kids faces when we introduced them to a new game, or how excited they would be when they learned a new word in English, helped me to see a greater “why” in the world and how we need to have balance in our lives. I am the first to say that I am in no way a perfect leader. There is always something that we can improve upon in order to become more effective in our professional and personal lives. This trip has helped to build a groundwork for skills that will be developed and will be crucial when I begin to enter the working world in the coming years.

About the Author – Caroline Bronstein