Team Leader |
In middle school I attended WyldLife as a student. I didn't think much of it besides the crazy wild games and seeing my friends. I don't remember the talks, the leader's names, but I remember it being a place where I felt welcomed.
In high school I attended Young Life and went to the camps. I grew close to my leaders and was able to live out my faith. I also became one of the WyldLife leaders for the middle school. When I came to JMU I also got involved in the Young Life program. I learned that it was more about relationships with students and living life with them than preaching to them what they should believe. I was placed on a team of four other college students as a freshmen. I was the youngest on the team, and our team leader was a junior in college. I began reaching out to kids at the middle school, going to their basketball games, meeting their families and just investing in a true friendship. Some of these students attended our bible studies or club events and even camps. But apart from any of the events or "hang-outs" we hosted, it was about being with kids and caring about them. I coached the basketball and track team at the school and even did some cheerleading (way out of my comfort zone!). I helped on fundraising nights, went to the musicals, and invested in the community. Teammates left as they graduated, so our team leader was chosen by the staff after the previous team leader left. I was chosen my senior year to have the priveldge of leading a team of some of my most caring, qualified, thoughtful peers. I organized team meetings, met with the Young life area directors, met with other team leaders, and was an advocate for my team, my students, and the school. |
WyldLife Leader
Before I lead my own team of leaders, I lead middle school students. I was a WyldLife leader from my junior year in high school, until my senior year in college. Through leading, I encountered some of the most difficult yet some of the most rewarding experiences. I spent hours upon hours disciplining, hanging out with, and living life with middle schoolers. Below are some pictures of my middle school friends and some fun things we did in WyldLife.
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CampaignersHere's a picture of our campaigner group at Chick-fil-A! We had campaigners weekly and it included a bible study lead by the leaders, fellowship, and even some worship. This is where kids could look more into their faith and spend time together.
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ClubWyldLife club in a nutshell is "controlled chaos." The leaders pick up students, or parent drop them off at our weekly location (church, house, etc.). We will have anywhere from 10 to 75 kids attend. We play ridiculous games, sing songs, do silly skits, and at the end we talk about what we believe in. Students from all different beliefs, backgrounds, races, financial standings, are welcome at our club.
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Summer CampSummer camp is absolutely WYLD. Students from the school sign up and are able to go spend a week at an incredible camp with their best friends. Camp is a place where kids eat dinner together when they might not ever do that with their family; kids feel included and safe when they go to sleep at night; they are able to have a full meal. Having worked with an inner-city school, a lot of these kids weren't able to experience these things outside of camp. We want kids to LOVE and BE LOVED.
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Swim Coach.The only other thing I spend as much time doing as teaching/playing guitar, is coaching swimming. I have been coaching since I was as young as thirteen. I coached private lessons, group lessons, clinics, and the community swim team. I have taught swimmers as young as one-year-olds to adults. I have taught beginning swimmers how to blow bubbles and taught swim clinics to advanced competitive swimmers. Whether it is a child putting his face in the water for the first time, or a swimmer winning their heat, it is incredible to see the progress among the swimmers.
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Childcare worker.
Last summer I went to YoungLives camp and worked with childcare. It might have been the most exhausting, yet most rewarding week of my life. I got to spend time with beautiful babies and create a trusting friendship with their moms. It was a huge deal for the teen mom's to leave their babies with us while they were able to spend time with their leaders at camp. Some of the moms have never left their babies before coming to camp. Many of the teen moms came from poverty or abusive backgrounds. Though there were many sad stories being shared, the babies made the struggle worth it. Overall, it was an eyeopening experience and humbled me to take care of such beautiful babies! |