S4TL 2015

 
          Shelby Baerwalde - S4TL Participant
S4TL is a leadership training program for high school students. It is organized annually by Rotarian senior staff from Districts 6890, 6950 and 6960 in mid-Florida. This award-winning program is capable of transforming the lives of these young leaders.  Each Rotary club in the three districts may sponsor a delegate to the sessions
One unique feature of S4TL is the "rap sessions" where the leaders of tomorrow are divided into groups of 16-18 delegates. They meet with Rotarians to discuss topics of interest to them. No holds are barred, and both groups learn from one another.
 
Our club is proud to sponsor a local high school to attend this program each year.  This year's participant was Shelby Baerwalde.  Shelby recently attended our club meeting to talk to us regarding her experience.
 
These are her comments:
    
Thank you, and HELLO
I would like to begin with a quote from Albert Einstein that I got from the seminar…
“The world we have created IS a product of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing OUR thinking.”
And that is what S4TL did for me, it changed my way of thinking.
Although I felt blessed to have this opportunity, I didn’t expect the week to make such an impact on my life. In all honesty, I expected a generic “Here is how to lead” camp.
Let me start from the beginning… Day One
I let my nerves get the best of me, to say the least! Miss Jodi and I drove into the parking lot and were bombarded by enthusiastic young adults in White polos.
After we made our way through the exciting welcome, Miss Jodi signed me in and hugged me goodbye. What she didn’t know was that she was sending me into more shouting people in now RED polos, all by myself! But they were actually very nice and gave me a very warm welcome.
I was the first to arrive in my dorm room suite. There was a note on my bed from my personal red shirt (like a counselor) I unpacked and waited. One by one each girl came in and followed the same routine. We introduced ourselves and said hi, but it was obvious that we were all nervous and a little lost.
Once everyone had arrived the girls in my dorm met up with the rest of the WHITE group. S4TL had us separated in groups labeled by a color… mine was white. And let me just say, I was lucky to be placed with a group of amazing people!
We began with group activities and ice breakers, which turned out to be a lot of fun. By the end of the day I concluded that this week was not going to be “too bad”.
The rest of the week we listened to personal and real speakers, making them easy to relate to.
We had RAP sessions, where Rotarians from all over the state give a few hour of their time to join in group discussions. We scattered all over different classrooms on the Florida Southern Campus, sat in circles and discussed current topics and issues. We talked about many topics including
  • Mental disabilities and
  • Immigration
It was awesome to have the Rotarians there with their insight and guidance in our discussions.
One of the many fun things we did were daily skits. Each group had one skit to write and perform daily about the previous day at S4TL. My group was very talented and came up with very cute ideas!
Random dancing was hilarious. I even finally learned the Cotton Eyed Joe!
We had 4 meals a day! 4!! I probably overate a little!
Something that S4TL allowed me to do that I had never done before was to speak on stage with a microphone in front of nearly 200 people! I got this chance twice!
What I enjoyed most about this seminar were the incredible speakers and I would like to share with you all some points that really stuck with me.
One of the speakers was unlike any other speaker I have heard. He used science and psychology to explain how people work and react and how we should react to them.
He told us that this is what your brain looks for:
  • It looks to belong
  • To connect
  • For safety
  • For purpose
  • Autonomy
  • And self expression
This is how you lead people, If you make another feel they belong…. Connect with them… make them feel safe…. Tell them they have purpose and so on… they are more likely to trust and look up to you as a leader.
Another thing that will guide me for the rest of my life was
  • To find a purpose in life
  • To find what I am passionate about
  • And to be willing to work hard to pursue it.
Now, all of you are holding two pennies. They all hold the same value, 1 cent.
Even if the penny is scratched or dirty, its value is not diminished. In the same way, even a person who has gone through tough times does not lose their value.
Patrick Grady, one of our speakers, gave each of us a penny, like I have given you all one today.
The purpose was to give it to someone who made an impact on our lives that week, thus giving the penny much more value than just one cent. Some gave it to new friends, some to leaders and speakers.
I am giving you all each a penny to keep because I am overly thankful for your part in sending me to S4TL.
I encourage you all to find someone today who has made a positive impact on your life and give the other penny to them.
Thank you so much for generously sending me to this camp and for allowing me to share what I learned with you today. I am changed because of it!
 
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