So PELP has come to a close and I wanted to write a final reflection. The main ways that PELP helped me grow were through the community service aspect and the mandated involvement. I was always going to volunteer at some level in college as well as join some clubs, but I don’t believe I would have gotten involved to the degree I did if it weren’t for PELP.
Because of the PELP Passports and community service hours, I attended and volunteered at so many campus events (Cinema on the Circle, Night Market, Multicultural Fair, 100th Night, CPB Block Party, and more); by doing so, I met some really great people and forged a connection with the Mary Washington community. Mary Washington isn’t just the college I go to, but it’s a home-away-from-home that I’ll be sad to leave in just a few years.
PELP was one of the reasons I decided to attend the Performing Arts Company (PAC) Small Show in the fall, and that led to me joining PAC this semester! (Side tangent on that: PAC is amazing and I recommend that anyone who has ever wanted to dance and perform in any capacity with any skill level should join because it is just the best.) I made friends through PELP–shoutout to Emily–and got to participate in some really interesting workshops and activities.
I would definitely say that the most impactful session was when we did the StrengthsQuest quiz. It helped to verbalize my character traits (some of which I didn’t even know I possessed) in a totally new way that was perfectly fitting. I felt oddly seen and understood in a manner I never had before. I also really liked the Lead Mary Wash Workshop where we talked about interview skills and the power of confidence.
My favorite session, however, was when we did an activity where you had to rank what the best decisions were in response to some crazy situation about hiking and getting attacked by a bear. My table had so much fun arguing over whether it was more important to bring a backpack or a survival guidebook.
I had my final reflection presentation on April 8th during one of our regular Tuesday meetings. I just presented a PowerPoint with some of the highlights from the year with an explanation of my personal growth. I know it’s lame, but I started working on it way back in November or October and I didn’t want to get rid of my hard work just to perfectly fit the assignment. I think it went well; I feel confident in my presentation skills and no one fell asleep from boredom.
While I’ll be happy to have my Tuesday evenings free, I can say that I’m going to miss our meetings a bit because I think we had a strong cohort this year.