What went well?

The progress I made; what was achieved and done

This was a rather emotional week. In my reflection, I will focus on academics and the personal journey as well. For the final English sessions, I decided to move forward with their writing and introduce the concepts of paragraphs and essays. Since they recently had to write a blog post, I expanded their grammatical knowledge to understand the importance of paragraphs in communicating their ideas. I held two Google Search sessions as well for them to understand how important searching can be when solving or approaching problems in their respective fields. These sessions went exceptionally well as they are skills they continued to use even after my volunteering ended.

The cohort from last year completed an advanced project to create their own million-dollar quiz game using the concept I had taught them. It was a prideful moment as they thought independently and creatively. In addition, the students sent me their final daily prompt responses, which are now filled with emotion and imagery that they lacked before as the students have clearly gained more comfort in English and are using it as a tool to be more expressive to a wider audience.

I had a rather emotional “interview” session with the students. The students wrote questions to ask me about my life as an international student and teacher. I spent some of the sessions taking student feedback on all of the sessions I taught; they talked about what worked well, what didn’t, and what they would like to see more of. Their responses have now formulated the approach the facilitators are taking after my departure.

The session ended with a lot of tears and hugs from every student. I thanked them for giving me a chance to be their sister and help them, and I thanked them for all they have done for me, from the hostels making me feel at home to the sessions celebrating and dancing with me whether it was my birthday or not. They all ran to me in tears, and we all promised to always remain in contact. We still are as I update them on my life journies and they do the same.

What could have been done differently?

Things that did not get done and/or could be changed

I have no response to this as I believe this reflective week acted more as a time for me to say my goodbyes and reflect on my experience with the team.

What did I learn about myself when working with others?

Contributions, behaviors, and values I exhibited

My aim will always be to create strong bonds with those who I have helped and who have helped me grow. When I am driven by care and commitment, those I work with will always remain an essential part of my journey. My conversations with my colleague Meera, for example, drive the decisions I have made following the completion of my leadership in-action project.

What did I learn about leadership?

Leadership attributes and insights I developed

Being given an incredible chance to develop leadership attributes and exercise my insights is a privilege, and an opportunity that has the most impact on you. The different spaces I worked in, and the new challenges I tackled every day, will continue to inform me as I work in new spaces and work with new people.

What do I want to develop or focus on next?

What I still need to develop

As this was my final week, I have nothing to add to this. However, I still am in touch with Kunal and other facilitators to discuss any questions or ideas on English and Coding programming.