Jessica Hurtado

Professor Dave Wells

OGL 484

Friday, July 15th, 2022

Learning and Discovery

Throughout my time at the Boys and Girls Club, I have worked with many different groups to

gain experience with various age groups. Still, there are highlights of my most valuable

experiences so far have been helping with the Leaders in Training Program, Teens Take the

Lead, and leading the Healthy Habits program. Stepping into this experience, I had no idea what

to expect. While it is a lot different than I expected, I have gained knowledge about teaching and

training, de-escalation, and planning projects that will all contribute to my role as a leader in any

organization I join.

The Leaders in Training program comprises teens ready to learn and develop the skills to enter

the real world. It begins with an application and interview process for them to join the youth side

as leaders and new responsibilities. My role is to help develop their confidence and efficiency

while working with the youth. What's exciting is that I get to participate in observing and

providing feedback to the teens while they are in action. Practicing this skill is essential because

it encourages me to address situations before they become a risk. As a leader, I must identify

risks when organizing a group or a project to ensure that my team's work is successful.
Teens Take the Lead has been my favorite project by far. I was assigned to organize three groups

to plan community service projects for our teen center. I have had the most rewarding time

practicing this brand-new form of leadership because I have always planned projects but never

been a full-time administrator. This role has pushed me past my leadership boundaries, and I now

have a new perception of project management. Previously, my leadership experience has made

me a control freak perfectionist, which made me want to take all the tasks in a project to

guarantee perfection to my standards. Taking a step back helps me see risks and opportunities

that I have not seen before; I think this will help me as a leader and a team member.

The healthy habits program has given me the freedom to put my knowledge to practice. Similar

to planning a project, I have expectations that my mentor sets, and my job is to deliver the

program to that standard. The challenge comes with the groups of kids I am working with

because they all come at different levels of knowledge and many learning styles. My goal has

been to deliver material in a way that can be received and processed by all the program's

members. Additionally, not every day is the same because emotions fluctuate, and I have to

implement strategies that help control distractions and manage productivity in the program. It

can be overwhelming, but every day I feel grateful to practice what I've learned and developed

my skills as a leader.

All of these experiences feel equally valuable to my development as a leader. I remember

thinking I had fully evolved as a leader, but this experience showed me that I would never stop

growing. Additionally, practicing the resources, I have seen in articles, and many different books

from my major have been a pleasure.

For my research paper, I would like to discuss the different leadership styles required of leaders

from the levels of management. For example, our entire lives, we have heard that followers are

leaders too. I never understood this concept, but now I know that there are many different

leadership styles to learn from and that they develop through succeeding at all levels of hierarchy

in an organization. As leaders move up in the management scale, they've learned to adapt and

flex between leadership styles to provide successful results.