A student reports on her training experience...

When you think of the Red Cross your first thought is probably of blood drives and CPR. Yes? But they do so much more... they provide leadership training for students who want to lead Red Cross Clubs at their school.

I attended the first Red Cross Club meeting at my school -- Franklin High. Over sixty students showed up at the meeting not knowing what to expect. Some came to receive service-learning hours, others to find out how to get certified in CPR, and still others came to help the community.

At the meeting, I learned of a new training program for club leaders called "Leadership Training for Young Agents of Change." I decided right away that I wanted to participate. So many students wanted to take the training course that our club sponsor had to pick two out of a hat. Mine was the second name drawn.

As I sat in on my first class, I thought, "Great, it's Saturday and I'm getting ready to take a class on my day off!. Why did I get myself into this?" But then the Youth Services Staff explained the agenda for the day beginning with a game to break the ice.

Next, we set goals for ourselves and proceeded through the training discussing and listening to each other. Our conversation sparked controversy and we learned to manage it.

Later, the staff asked us to make something from Play-Dough that represented us. The next thing on the agenda was group work, and we then gave presentations on how start & manage a club.

Change was our next area of discussion: We talked about how to deal with it and how to work with people who resist change. By the end of the day, I felt I had accomplished my goals.

Instead of sitting for six hours and listening to some old guy lecture on leadership, I interacted with eight people in a series of fun, interesting and enlightening activities; had a great time; and would definitely recommend this training to anyone.

Becky Sass