SSD Panels – 20/21 Service

AWARENESS

Recall the personal experience- what were your most memorable moments?
My most memorable moment was during the QnA portion of each session. Some of the attendees, especially the younger ones, were very open and creative about what they asked. It was quite entertaining to see some of the more odd ones relating to more general questions about life and school, but also it provided a bit of feedback on what could be made clearer in later sessions.

How did you feel about the experience? What went well? What did not go as planned?
Overall I think the event went well. All the panelists were on time and often we were able to finish early and had plenty of time for questions. Each panelist was prepared with their pitches and there weren’t any technical issues we encountered.
Although I had prepared a script, I didn’t follow it to the word and there were instances of silence where we (the panelists and I) had nothing more to say and the attendees had no questions at that present moment. We did find a way to overcome the awkwardness however, and after taking the group screenshot I think everyone felt a little more comfortable knowing there were others joining in as well.

ANALYSIS

What happened? Why was it like this?
The Service Expo was designed after lockdown and social distancing measures meant a large gathering in the plaza was no longer possible. Nor was it suitable to gather people into classrooms and present the information in a live format. The Executive team instead opted for a digital presentation.

How did your team work together-or not? What did you achieve? And how did you achieve it?
The Service and Sustainable Development (SSD) Executive worked together to organise and manage the entire event. From conception to planning and execution, everyone was involved. Each SSD Officer held workshops at the end of last academic year to brief each Service Chair with what information they would need for the panel and then two days before the event all the SSD Execs met to finalise the script templates and send out event invitations.

APPLICATION

What will you take away from this experience? How has it changed you?
The event taught me how to work with a team of people with diverse interests and skills, manage my team to balance preparation with perfection and to speak up when I spot an issue or potential conflict during team discussions.
I wouldn’t say this experience has necessarily changed me, but it was good practice of how to prepare for a big event and work with a team over a long period of time between a briefing and final execution (No work or meetings were conducted over the holiday).

What difference do you think you have made? How has it changed you?
I think I was able to make my panel interactive and engaging. After hearing some feedback from my peers, our panel was more energetic and relaxed then the others which seemed to have been more formal and structured.
I was very happy to hear people had genuinely enjoyed the experience and it has made me rethink how best to balance structure and form with improvisation and adaption during the next major event.

Learning Outcome 3

What activities did I plan?
I worked with the SSD Executive Chairs to organise and plan the Service Expo Panels for the new academic year of 20/21. I helped provide input and feedback on what was likely to work and potential problems that might arise.

What was the outcome of my planning? How do I know?
The planning resulted in a well-executed event in which a range of facilitators and panellists were able to inform the student population about the range of different service opportunities available at the school.

How did my plans change as the activity progressed? Why?
We began the planning in the final weeks of term 3 of the previous academic year (19/20) and the thinking was that restrictions would ease and face to face panels would be the way we would present the expo. Another assumption made at that time was that most students would be able to be on campus.
Over the holidays the situation thankfully didn’t devolve, but also didn’t improve. A week before school began the SSD met together and discussed the final proposal for the event. Over the summer break, the chairs and Mr Hannah worked together and decided to host the panels online, we would have to operate in groups of 5 and all be socially distanced per school regulations. This decision was the result of uncertainty regarding Singapore’s stance on COVID restrictions and the SSD chose to ere on the safe side.

What difficulties did I face in executing my plan? How did I overcome these challenges?
Difficulties, in the beginning, were regarding online communication. School had moved to remote learning so even students located in Singapore were not able to meet and plan in person. We did host meetings over Google Meet and held a workshop to inform the Service Chairs of what would be involved in the expo and what they needed to prepare. Thankfully I was able to return to Singapore and by the week of the Expo, all the panel facilitators were able to meet on campus and openly discuss the final arrangements of the panels.

How did I respond to changes in plans? Would I respond the same way in future? Why/why not
The entire SSD team and I responded in a flexible manner to all the uncertainty and changes occurring around us. Evidently the Chairs had begun planning for a format that would limit random interaction and making the Expo more concise and directed. They then informed the other execs of the plan for a panel and how we would conform to the COVID restrictions and then further clarifying and problem-solving when plans changed again to adapt to the tighter restrictions.
I believe I would respond in a similar fashion in future because at the time I was not thinking of what was happening and how it affected me, but acted intuitively and went with the flow. I feel the natural way in which I acted meant these actions are ingrained in some way into my personality and I would repeat the same response should this form of disruption occur again.

Learning Outcome 5

Who did I collaborate with?
There were two teams I collaborated with:
SSD Exec (including Environmental Initiatives (EI) Team)
Conscious Consumption’s Service Chairs

What made it easy or difficult to work together with this person/people?
SSD Exec:
Most of the SSD Exec were continuing on in their positions up to this event, so most had experience in event management and leadership. As part of the newly formed EI Team, I had no experience working in either the old Service Exec or L.E.A.P. both of which were reformed into the one SSD. This made it easier to follow along as most of the Exec knew how best to organise and manage information and were very efficient with what they needed when and where. The only difficulty in the beginning was distance as everyone was at home or overseas (for me at least) and that made communication less intuitive and interactive. Nether less we persevered and were able to meet in person just before the event to formalise and answer any questions that would have been harder to answer through digital communication.
CC Chairs:
Similar to SSD Exec the Service Chairs were all at least a year experienced with their leadership positions. Most were Grade 11 going to Grade 12, so handling work loads and forming coherent speeches and presentations was almost second nature to them. This made it extremely easy to communicate the idea for the event and the tasks the SSD requested be completed and most answered their emails in a timely fashion.
The only thing I would say was difficult was my position as a Grade 10 student. It was strange to have to instruct students older then me, but perhaps that is what makes UWC such a unique school, where a younger student can work in leadership and lead older students during major events or activities.

What challenges did we face when working together? How did we overcome them? Why couldn’t we overcome some challenges?
I mentioned some of the challenges above regarding Online Communication and Discussion, as well as having to instruct older students. Other than that was probably ensuring I had prepared all the necessary materials for the event and had passed on all the required information to the Exec Chairs. All other challenges regarding the event including potential issues with technology, presentation and health and safety protocols were dealt with by the Exec Chairs who provided clear instructions on how to deal with most of the serious, worst case scenario issues that didn’t end up being needed thankfully.

How important was collaboration to achieving the outcome or my goal?
Collaboration was vital to ensure the event ran smoothly. From the planning and briefing of Exec Chairs to Exec Officers and then Exec Officers to Service Chairs, it was important everyone knew what needed to be done. Furthermore, as time drew closer to the date of the event it was vital that we discussed potential issues and develop solutions should they arise. Even during the event the SSD Exec collaborated together to answer questions and share information, it really was a team effort to make the whole experience enjoyable and smooth.

What could I do in future to be a more effective team player?
I think taking a more proactive approach and speaking up about questions, concerns or solutions will mean I can make a more meaningful contribution to group discussions and make a difference to the operation and effectiveness of the SSD Exec.