When this class first started, all I could think was "another leadership class?". I just want to graduate, get a job, and make money. Then when I found out what was expected of me, I really freaked out. Finding a project was the hardest part of the class, we needed to do something fun that no one else had already done. Once the idea of the Great American Smokeout walk hit us, I knew we had a winner! This was something we were both interested in, and it seemed a lot less like work. Neither of us had ever planned an event for anything, much less the entire community. We called radio and television stations, made flyers, baked cookies, all in preparation for the big event. We passed out flyers everywhere, the cafeteria at St. Joseph's looked like it had Great American Smokeout wallpaper. While doing this, it became easier to talk to people and to get our point across. We also had a petition for people to sign to raise the cigarette tax in Georgia. I have never gotten anyone to sign a petition before, and it was fun working for a good cause. On the day of the big event, Rachel and I were nervous that no one would come. While the turnout wasn't hundreds of people, we felt like the people who were there really benefitted from our information, we made walking fun! We met many new people in the community who will hopefully remain our allies for future events. Yes, I want to do this again next year!
Rachel Hancock's reflective comments:
At the start of this semester I knew I was going to have to complete a leaderdhip project in fullfillment of RADS 3451, so I immediately began brainstorming possible practicum ideas. I came up with a couple of ideas to start with, but nothing to serious. I wanted to do something that would really involve the public. I myself am a non-smoker and am in the Cardiovascular Interventional Science program at AASU. Next semester will be our last semester before graduation and throughout my time in this program I have witnessed many diseases and complications in patients due to smoking cigarettes. Therefore I knew I wanted to inform the public about the dangers of smoking cigarettes. I mentioned this idea to my classmate Tracy and she said that the Great American Smokeout was just around the corner. So we put our heads together and decided to create a walk for the community to attend and there we can have a poster presentation and information about the risks of smoking and the benefits of quitting.
In order to get this event to be a success I knew Tracy and I were going to have to work hard to make sure the public knows about this event. This is when our leadership skills came into play. This is when it hit me that no one was telling me what to do and how to do it. Tracy and I were the only ones that were in charge of making sure things were completed. We learned that advertising and making an event known to the public is not easy. To do this you have to contact more than one person and have more than enough information available for them. We have also become aware that an event like this one cannot be put together in one night. It takes teamwork and determination.
After completing the event I realized I obtained more than one type of leadership quality. I exhibited qualities such as instructing everyone to a certain task and making sure those thing got done. I also made sure to include everyone in the decision making process. I wanted everyone's opinion on how things should get done. Using these leadership skills made the development of the Great American Smokeout Walk go smooth and a huge success in the Savannah community. I can only hope now that someone will continue this event for years to come.
