Philly

We helped clean up the park and surrounding area for Front Step in Logan Nicetown. It was really cool looking at things we found in the park and also interacting with people as we cleaned up the streets. My favorite part was hearing people from the community talk about Pastor Wes. You could tell that he was really respected by everyone because of how much he cared about their community. His intentions and actions meant a lot to his peers and they were also really appreciative of our help. One man even asked us where he could get trash claws like the ones we had. It was cool seeing that people were genuinely inspired to help out around the town in the future, as well.

-"Kouzes and Posner suggest exemplary leaders should 'treat every job as an adventure." What have you learned about how to do this on this trip?"

Kouzes and Posner suggest exemplary leaders should treat every job as an adventure. I believe this to be very true. Treating all jobs as an adventure can help keep morale high, boost goals setting, and keep you focused on the end result. Having an “adventure” mindset keeps things enjoyable and I also feel as though it could help curb the negative feelings that could accompany adversity or any possible obstacles encountered. I think the Philadelphia trip helped develop this mindset for me in a few different ways. Some of the work we did while in Philly was laborious, it felt as though it was endless at times. But throughout each job I’d try to think of the fun parts, and highlight how much success we were having as a group overall. Adversities, like bathroom breaks during the assembly line at Share Foods, were small adventures in themselves. Instead of worrying about not getting the job done, or it being harder with less people, or our system getting messed up, I tried to think “okay we can do it!” No challenge was too big and trying to go into high gear when someone stepped out was actually pretty fun Sure it was hard work but that was part of the adventure mindset. Adventures are hard but usually worth it. This trip taught me to push through the hard parts of the adventure and find great joy in the process.

-"Describe one Philadelphian Leader you have met."

One Philadelphian leader that I met on this trip was Pastor Wes. Pastor Wes we met at Front Step and he enlisted us to help clean up a nearby park and the surrounding area. Wes helps run Front Step and he does a great deal for the community of Logan Nicetown. He is very dedicated to helping the community and its people by providing a place where people can worship, get to know each other, and get involved. Pastor Wes is a transformational and charismatic leader. Everyone in the community that I talked to and interacted with knew who he was. The people in the community loved what he is doing and has done for them and they are all very appreciative of it. They have a high amount of respect for him and I believe it is because they can tell that he genuinely cares about them and their town. He cares about helping them out, improving their city and their youth, he cares about having a strong and positive impact on their lives. Pastor Wes has taken time to build up their relationships, the ones between him and others, and those between community members themselves. He is also a transactional leader. He can be categorized as transactional as well because his foundation functions through and relies greatly on volunteers and the service that they all provide because it is just him and his small staff running things. Without the help of the community members, they couldn’t function properly and have such a great impact.Read more