Sarah

Hey Hawkeyes!

OnIowa! leaders are getting so excited to meet their small groups and we are having a blast in training. Yesterday we talked about welcoming our small group and introducing ourselves as well as going over the schedule and logistics for Friday. We’re learning a ton of ice breakers and team building activities. One of the team builders involved Code Red pairing with the Purple Grapes, so of course we were Code Grape. We had fun learning the importance of communication with teamwork so our marshmallows wouldn’t float down the chocolate river. We were divided into teams of 18 and we were given 10 paper plates (the “marshmallows”). We had to cross the “chocolate river” by getting the whole team across by stepping on the marshmallows. The catch was that if a marshmallow wasn’t being held down by someone’s foot, it would float away(be taken away from us). So we all had to work together to pick up a foot and share a plate with another person.

I personally love icebreakers, not the awkward ones that no one wants to do, just the ones that trick you into opening yourself to the group. I like the ones that help start a conversation with the person next to you, even if it is about how weird it is. I love learning all about new icebreakers and getting to try them out. I think I’m most excited to do icebreakers with my small group on Friday. I’m working on compiling an entire list of all of my favorite icebreakers so I can just pull out a different one at any free minute!

We also talked about how to handle tough questions (like ones we may not know the answer to, or are, in general, not relevant to the goal of On Iowa!). It can be one of the scarier parts of the job. You, as a leader, are in front of 20 first-year students that are starting their college experience with their own expectations. You have no idea what they’re thinking about, what background they come from, or what they want to know more about. The On Iowa! planning staff does a fantastic job of helping us feel more prepared for situations we can’t predict and it definitely helps alleviate the worry. In all honesty, we (the leaders) are here to help the transition to college a little easier and give a group of first years or transfer students a face and a name to see as a guide to answering their questions. If we don’t know the answer, we know someone who does and we will do our best to help you have the best, most successful year here at University of Iowa.

Red Squad: Code Red

I’m so thankful that I have such a great team backing me up through this whole week. This is my awesome cast of Code Red leaders.(The only picture I could get to load is the funny one; guess it was meant to be).

They have all been so supportive and encouraging as we figure out what our own leadership style is. Every one of them as been willing to make suggestions or offer advice on dealing with different situations. You can tell that helping people means a lot to them and that’s how you know that the whole OnIowa! program will be absolutely amazing! I couldn’t have asked for a better cast and I’m so excited to continue training and leading our small groups through the program. Thanks, Code Red!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 19th, 2014 at 7:44 am and is filed under Campus Life, General, . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.