What went well?

The progress I made; what was achieved and done

The last week is a React & Close week. We had our program wrap-up and went back to our hometown.

On Monday, we participated in Rennueva showcase activity. The scholars in Rennueva showed their project on an online recycling training program. We recognized the importance of recycling and actively recycled plastic bottles, food waste, paper, etc. Next day, our team had a showcase for our project. We organized guided tours for local participants at Huerto Roma Verde. They were separated into two focused groups: one English tour and one Spanish tour. Each tour lasted for 45 minutes, and then we collected their feedbacks from 30min group interviews. My teammates led the English tour and a local volunteer called Pedro helped us guide the Spanish tour. Finally, our showcase was really successful and the participants gave us many valuable comments! Then we listened to Nidaria’s manual showcase and finished our last derivatives. On our last working day, we had an internal closing and  farewell party with volunteers. I felt really pity that as I got Covid, I haven’t attended all the sessions. 

What could have been done differently?

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

For HRV project, we have done three micro-projects and had our showcase perfectly. However, we still have some improvements for our guided tour flow and the scripts can be translated in more languages such as French, Chinese, German, etc to attract more visitors from different backgrounds.

What did I learn about myself when working with others?

Contributions, behaviours and values I exhibited

Through the six-week program, I jumped out of my comfort zone and became more independent. When there were any challenges such as I got Covid during the last week, I became really ill but I still worked on our showcase with bravery and strong will. I have enough courage to face any challenges now. The enthusiasm and support from other scholars and staff at Make_Sense gave me great warmth and strength. 

What did I learn about leadership?

Leadership attributes and insights I developed

I suppose that leaders usually have great influences to motivate others. When they face any challenges, they never give up but get successful through their great efforts. Their stories moved the others a lot and give more people motivation to pursue their dreams. For example, in our project team, I could see that my teammate Isabella always has a strong influence power on us. She clearly knows her ambitions and is well-equipped with scientific knowledge of user experience. She could led our project smoothly through detailed and comprehensive design and implementation.

What do I want to develop or focus on next?

What I still need to develop

I think that I still need to develop the ability to address emergencies. When I just got Covid and felt really uncomfortable, I became really anxious and worried about myself. I found that I couldn’t breath smoothly, I became so painful and tried to ask help from my housemate and staff. They were so kind and helpful to support me and I got better. However, if there are any other emergencies when I was alone, I need to imagine any possible problems that I may meet and then try to presuppose the solutions. Then I could face the emergencies more leisurely!