Leadership Spotlight: Growth Through Service
January 31st 2022
The Value of Service
As I have matured over the years, I have found that one of the major keys to developing a happy life is through serving others. The value a person gets from serving others cannot be understated. I have found that it has been pivotal in my personal and professional development. As I served more people in my life, I learned:
- Who I am and my capabilities.
- How to understand other’s needs and wants.
- The best way to help others within my own capabilities.
The more we serve, the more value we can offer to society. Interestingly, I have observed that most people don’t learn the value of service at a young age. But when I do see students serving others, I like to recognize them and thank them for an outstanding job!
A Spotlight of Appreciation
In this spotlight, we want to highlight a student who has volunteered with our organization for the past several years. For the sake of privacy, we have chosen to highlight this student’s accomplishments without revealing their identity. We have seen them develop into a wonderful person who has a bright future ahead of them. We first met this student in 2015, during our final year of testing our new summer leadership program offered through Arizona State University’s Barrett Summer Scholars program. This student was bright and gravitated toward our leadership philosophy of simplifying life and having less stress.
This student has been with us since they were freshmen in high school. Over the past 6 years, they have accomplished the following:
- Attended more programs (5) and volunteered more hours (300+) than any single student we have taught since 2013 (2.6K students)
- Awarded a scholarship to LSA’s prestigious success coaching program, which they successfully completed.
What makes this student so remarkable is the service they did despite the challenges they faced:
- They came from a single-parent home.
- Early on, they had difficultly connecting with people because it was hard for them to understand others [social cues and intent].
- They didn’t have a clear path on what they would do with their life and how they would be successful.
- They didn’t feel happy.
Growth Through Service
It has been amazing watching this student transform. Through service, they learned how to be a leader and take control over their own life and make the necessary changes to make it better. We observed the following:
- They became more social, by leaving their comfort zone with the goal of understanding others more.
- They discovered their passion for people and psychology.
- This led them to apply and get accepted into Arizona State University’s Psychology program and Barrett, The Honors College (#1 honors program in the country).
- They moved out of their house to live on campus and learned essential life skills like cooking, managing a budget, and driving.
- They continued their service beyond LSA by joining numerous clubs and taking on leadership positions in them and gaining numerous friends and community.
- In the next year, they will successfully graduate with a Bachelor’s in Psychology. They found a niche specialty in psychology [focused on women who deal with the pressures of not wanting to get pregnant]. They want to pursue a master’s degree in this area and eventually open their own practice to help women who face this issue.
- They are happier and more fulfilled with life.
When they and their parent were asked about their experience with LSA, they had this to say:
“When I first attended an early LSA program all the way back in 2015, I didn’t have the slightest clue that my involvement would last more that one week. The reason I have continued volunteering and keeping in touch with the instructors is that I feel that the week I attended LSA, marked the beginning of a change in the way I looked at myself, others, and life in general. I learned to be more appreciative of the things I have in life, kinder to those around me, and to worry less about what I can’t control. Those changes didn’t happen overnight. I didn’t come back from that program having done a complete 180. In fact, I’m still changing today. But that week sparked something in my brain that changed my perspective on life. I enjoy continuing to participate in LSA, even though grad school isn’t that far off for me because I feel like I help spark that same change in other students, and it brings me a lot of happiness to see them become more comfortable with themselves and others during our programs. I wouldn’t change a thing.”
– Student Testimonial
“I was really amazed how the LSA program created a sense of community in the students and instilled the importance of working together and helping each other. This allowed the opportunity for my child to be themselves and really grasp all the concepts of the program. Their desire to help others quickly grew so they signed up for the executive leadership, became a volunteer to help with the groups, and completed success coaching. They also joined other clubs and demonstrated dedication and good leadership skills. I think that serving others through LSA helped them understand what their capabilities are, fostered confidence to pursue their goals, and found joy in serving others. I am incredibly proud they seized this opportunity!”
– Parent Testimonial
There is value in serving others. If you are young and have not started incorporating service into your life, consider starting today and watch how it helps you transform your life. Remember the old saying, “What doesn’t change, remains the same!”
