The ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius wrote, A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Success doesn’t appear at once, it is the combination of diligence, preparation, and time. Strong programs do not begin strong; they grow as their leaders make improvements. This idea has become evident in the last few months as I have worked with ……. County’s Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council launching the ……. initiative. A few years ago, this program would seem impossible. Now, its potential is limitless.
As a member of the Advisory Council for the last four years, I have seen it transform completely. When I was a freshman and sophomore, nothing was accomplished. Last year, with new leadership, we were asked to take on more responsibilities. When we talked with the elementary and middle school students about their complaints, it became clear that their biggest concerns were all related and timely. Representatives were asking for more physical activity, increased sports opportunities, and healthier choices at lunch. These younger students recognized one of the biggest problems facing American youth — their health.
This became the focus of the Advisory Council over the past two years. We were willing to expand health awareness into a community-wide service learning project. Our next move was hosting fitness screenings at high schools in August ……. We spent the summer contacting local business sponsors, refining the fitness testing process, and discussing advertising techniques. We worked on our own fitness.As we educated the county about health and fitness, I educated myself. It became clear how critical a problem the lack of healthy attitudes is across the world. As more children become obese, it becomes more important that we take quick action. The council’s focus has been children so we could instill healthy habits to promote lifetime fitness.
As leader for our school’s screening, I coordinated the supplies and facilities with the school custodians and athletic director. I scheduled volunteers from our National Honors Society. ……… taught me how to work well with people from different ages and positions. It showed me that I can trust myself and others to accomplish goals that will impact our community. We were able to get everything set up in the first week of school. By the screening day, we discovered that we were over prepared. Attendance was far below what we had expected. Advertising had not been our biggest success. However, as our superintendent explained, we could not expect a new project to reach immediate success — it needed time to grow.
Since August, the Council has been working towards our next screening in March — Health Awareness Month. We hope to make …… well-known across the county. We hope to increase competition between classes and schools to determine‚ “How fit can ….. get?”. Though I am young, ….. has inspired me to work towards making a real change in our community. Since our success has only begun, I can not wait to see …….’s future impact.
Student Essay: Published with Permission
Lynn Radlauer Lubell, Publisher of InLikeMe.com and Founder of Admission By Design, an Educational Consultancy based in Boca Raton, Florida.
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