Capstone Project Reflection Blog

Throughout my whole capstone project there have been many difficulties and challenges such as deciding which topic to choose, how to start my hours, and finding a mentor. The most challenging part of the project I found was writing a 5 page research paper. I found this aspect the most difficult because I am not the type that enjoys writing papers and don't find writing a research paper  as useful a skill than many other things in life than many other types of writing. I overcame this by working hard and putting a good amount of effort into writing an informative and accurate research paper with the information I have collected. Even though I received a failing grade for the paper I still feel as my paper was a good piece of work. Other aspects I found challenging were to get out of my comfort zone and try new methods to get my work completed such as finding my mentor. For this I had to go through the process of using school resources to find a possible mentor, which lead me to meeting my mentor at a Basic PRLS seminar. Through my mentor I found how to do my hours through seminars and a leadership weekend retreat.

 Personally From this project I gained the opportunity to push myself out of my comfort zone for the sake of a grade. This gave me the chance to grow as a person through working with my mentor and attending many leadership seminars and a 3 day weekend retreat on leadership. Through these activities I learned to be a more confident and respectful person that can present himself professionally in front of others. This also helped me become more social and open with strangers, since I constantly had to work with strangers from many social classes.

To use this project I had to think critically to find a mentor and to do a majority of the assigned work such as for the paper, blog posts, and to keep up to date with the deadlines. I used my communication skills multiple times to get information and vague portions of the project, to find a mentor, and at the seminars to learn how to present myself by constantly participating. For this project I had to be very creative to give it a sense of professionalism and to make it seem interesting in my paper and blog posts, while also making my abstract and culminating blog itself sound interesting and informative.

Master PRLS 2

On the date of April 19, 2014 From 8:30am to 12:00am  and from 12:30PM to 4:00PM I participated in the Master PRLS 2 program which consisted of a day where we would practice three planned speeches in front of  a group of people. Our three speeches have to consist of a two minute speech describing a speech you had to give to your club about the last section of Master PRLS. Since I am not associated with their club yet I was forced to make this speech to my mother. During this speech I described her reactions and thought of the program and how she thought it was a good idea to try to enhance my presentation skills. The second speech is a two minute speech on your favorite person or aspect of their club. For this speech I spoke of my favorite aspects of the Rotary club that has been sponsoring me so far. The final speech is a 5 min. speech on something you are passionate about. For this final speech I spoke on preventing littering because litter is a growing problem in many cities and because it creates pollution and disease due to bacteria build up. Through doing these 3 speeches and seeing many other peoples' amazing speeches I learned that preparation makes better speeches and that most of the time content does not really matter as long as it is relevant the most important this is how you present yourself because the slightest movements and actions can make you seem insecure, such as putting your hands in your pockets or by the manner you begin your presentation. Through out this day I have done 7 more hours bringing my running total to 42 hours of my project completed out of a minimum amount of 25 hours. Which means that I have more than enough hours on my project. My next and final post will be a wrap up of this project.

Weekend at RYLA- Day 3

On the date of April 6th, of 2014 I had my last day at the RYLA program. The final day's theme was based on citizenship. For this we had to create a community service project and present this idea to a panel of judges. This took place from 9:00 am to 12:00 am. Our community service idea was to create a fund to give middle school children in need with school supplies such as a backpack, binder, pencils, markers and etc. The plans to raise these funds was based on a thousand dollar scholarship from a community service group, a discount from buying the supplies in bulk from staples, and a few fund raisers such as a silent auction and a benefit concert as well as a supply donation drive. After 1:30Pm to 2:30Pm we has our final discussion with our group which consisted of a wrap up of what we learned and some goals to set in mind. Mine were to become a better leader by encouraging others and playing a more active role in any sort of group activity. Through out this final day I completed an amount of 4 hours making my running total to 35 hours out of a 25 hour minimum. Also there are still more hours that I will  I do My Master PRLS #2 class on Saturday April 19, 2014 which will consist of planned public speaking this class will help me with my presentation skills which is a key skill necessary for any work environment.

Weekend at RYLA- Day 2

On day two of my experience at RYLA the theme was teamwork. We went through a ShelterBox activity from 8:30 AM to 12:30 AM. During this activity we were in a scenario where we were part of an emergency relief squad from the organization ShelterBox and had to work as a team to help feed and house the people affected by the disaster. In the first part of this activity we had to set up and emergency housing tent with our team of ten people the only difficult part of this was that only two people were allowed to speak and the rest couldn't so this activity tested our ability to communicate with others when we can't understand them. In the second activity we had to take a specific path through boxes to get water to a filtration system the hard part was we didn't know what path to take so each time we messed up he had to start from the beginning this was difficult because we had to memorize a certain path and take that back and forth. Through this activity we learned to communicate with the team that way you are able to confirm your path and can do it quickly and safely.The next activity was going through customs which as the ones who processed the "goods" we were supposed to bring into the country to help out the hungry. In the end I had to lead and translate to the group what he was saying and coordinate them so that we can do the steps correctly and get the job done. In the end to finish this activity we had to make things very clear with them and what were the rules so we didn't have to go around in circles and also had to bribe him to finish the process because some times in life it is necessary. After this we had to do and activity where we were wrapped together and had to follow directions to get our this was important because if we all went in different directions and didn't communicate we would all fall. The last activity was a lava pit where we were all lined up on a ledge and had to organize ourselves from tallest to shortest be moving across each other. Through this activity we learned to get comfortable with a group of people to achieve a goal with a group of ten people we were able to do this in 31 seconds at our fastest. After this from 1:30 pm to 5:30 pm we had to complete a ropes course with our group two at a time. The one we had was called the giants ladder in which was 45 feet high up to the bell we had to climb a a rope net up 20 feet and then the rest of the way up was through these floating steps of wood which were each about 4.5 to 5 feet apart vertically. To complete this course I had to help my partner by assisting her as we went up the course since she wasn't as strong as me and had trouble pulling herself from the rope that was set up to go straight up to the bell perpendicular to the steps. Through this challenge I learned to motivate and assist people to complete a task that needs to be completed. Later from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm we had a speaker named Michael Ford who spoke to us about potential and how if we want to get something we can because each of us has potential that is suppressed as we go on throughout our daily lives and how with any idea we can change the world no matter how small or mediocre if you act upon it and visualize it you can make these goals happen. After from 9:00 pm to 10:00 pm we had to present a skit from each family ours was based on the ideals of leadership and how in a group we should all plan to be fair and find an idea we can all agree on. Though this Sunday I was able to complete 10 hours of activities for my project adding on to my 21 hours making it 31 hours out of 25.

Three Days at RYLA- Day one

On the date of April 4th, 2014 though April 6th, 2014 I attended a camp that is payed for by the rotary club of district 5150, this camp is called RYLA. The themes for the three days in RYLA was leadership,teamwork, and citizenship which are necessary traits for any leader, such as a manager. On the first day of RYLA the theme was leadership. After lunch at 2:00 pm to 2:30 pm we listened to an introductory speak from the directors of the program which outlined the rules and thins we need to constantly do like clean up after ourselves. After we heard a speech from Mike Walsh, from 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm who showed us some team building exercises which helped us meet and converse with new people we didn't even know and also learned about our personalities and our strengths and weaknesses in them. This exercise was amazing because  I was able to learn how to talk casually to complete strangers and taught me about how I can strengthen my quieter personality and get my ideas heard. From 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm we met with our families, which are the groups we are divided into as we enter the lodge ( mine was called Amazon), During this time we did icebreakers and activities to get to know each other so that we feel comfortable doing all of the activities over the weekend. After from 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm we had a public speaker named Rebecca Shapiro who told us about her difficult life and about how she attempted suicide multiple times but in the end she learned that she can be better than her situation and over came the difficulties of living with a over religious and strict family to finally get her life together. I found this speech interesting because it showed that over time things do get better and how most people have the potential to do great things even in horrible circumstances. After her speech we spoke in the amphitheater and discussed about the day and also watched a play set up by the alumni from 9:30 pm to 10:30 pm this play taught us about how each personality is needed to get a job done and how each person contributes in their own way.So throughout this Friday I did 6.5 hours, learning about leadership and  how each personality is useful for any project, which can be added to my original 14.5 hours to make a total of 21 hours out of 25 hours necessary for the capstone project.

Master PRLS 1

On February 8, 2014 I went to the Master PRLS 1 Class which is hosted by Rotary International, a huge community service organization, The Master PRLS 1 class is meant to teach you about Extemporaneous Public Speaking, which is a skill necessary for any type of person in a leadership position. I was in this class for 7 hours from 8:30 am- 3:30 pm. While in this class we went over many methods for presenting and also were put to present certain topics our self. One of the most challenging presentation activities was the x walk, in which you are randomly chosen to present with no hint at your topic and told to go to the back and choose a card, this card has a topic which you have to present, after you pick up the card you walk straight to the front and present, also you can't stall or stop walking. This activity itself was difficult because you have to think critically of a topic and presentation with barely any time. Another activity that was helpful was making a story from your own previous life experience, because from this activity we learned about a method about how to structure your speeches so that you finish in a given time without going over. This method is by first making a goal or a point you want to give in your speech and create an ending, then from there you make an opener and in the middle you can just tell your story only using the necessary details to  make sense and when it comes close to your given time limit finish your sentence and use your closer to state your point. From this experience at Mastrer PRLS 1 I learned how to make better presentations with little time to prepare and also methods to prepare speeches more effectively. I feel like this skill can be very useful in many portions of your life especially in any given work place. My next Master PRLS seminar that i plan to attend is on April 19th which is on Planned Public Speaking, I also plan to attend a RYLA camping weekend which is solely based on working on leadership skills which will be from April 4-6, 2014. The only thing I wonder is if I can use these for my hours since they are in April. I need to check with my teacher about this. Also for the record in total I now have 14.5 hours of  25 hours now completed of my Capstone Project.

Second Post for Capstone project (Basic PRLS 1)

On January 25, 2014 I attended a Basic Potential Rotary Leaders Seminar or Basic PRLS for short. This seminar lasted from 8:30 am- 4:00 pm which is 7.5 hours. At this  seminar I learned many crucial ideas skills needed to become a good leader such as communication. I was informed about the types of authority, the reasons people may follow a leader and what process a leader must follow to obtain a goal as a group. I also learned about certain traits found in a leader and about what makes an effective leader. It was a very exciting and informative seminar, from which I learned many ideas from. I plan to attend the next Seminar on February 8th called Master PRLS 1 which will cover extemporaneous public speaking, which is a very important skill in leaders as well as managers. I hope the next seminar is as informative and as entertaining as the last.My running total of hours right now is at 7.5 hours of a 25 hour minimum.