{"id":611,"date":"2014-06-12T19:25:31","date_gmt":"2014-06-12T19:25:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.soscampus.com\/?p=611"},"modified":"2021-10-10T06:28:49","modified_gmt":"2021-10-10T06:28:49","slug":"all-that-really-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/studentsofferingsupport.org\/all-that-really-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"All that really matters"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Guest Blogger, Mario Salvador (University of Windsor, SOS volunteer)<\/strong><\/p>\n

It’s a long road to get to the Outreach Trip. \u00a0And it\u2019s almost always longer and different than what you expected.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

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Being a part of the leadership team for Windsor SOS for three years, I’ve walked the path twice. \u00a0It took us two years to raise money for classrooms in Peru and one year for a water project in Honduras, from which I’ve just recently returned.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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After walking the path once, there’s something important that you learn. \u00a0If you notice it and understand it, it not only helps you to be a better leader but it can help you have a pleasant journey on a path that’s far from smooth.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Our path, like I’m sure that of many other chapters, began with new ideas, new enthusiasm and a bunch (almost 100) of excited volunteers. \u00a0These volunteers were all talented too, dynamic and driven. \u00a0You think to yourself, \u201cHell, we can pay for five projects…and all go free!\u201d<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But it\u2019s not long until the challenges begin. \u00a0For us, it began with a math department who refused to speak to us, let alone cooperate with us. \u00a0Professors accused us of breaching contracts with the GA\/TA Union, the president of which was nowhere to be found. \u00a0Once that was resolved, our faculty advisors threw down almost all of our new, apparently not so amazing, ideas. \u00a0Politics, it\u2019s part of the game.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The challenges also come from within as your once strong army of volunteers become harder to coordinate once midterms begin. \u00a0Plenty of promises and commitment but little actual execution and often NO communication. \u00a0But that\u2019s to be expected right? \u00a0People are bombarded with other priorities and commitments. \u00a0Being a student isn\u2019t easy.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Second semester rolls around and you find a new way to lose volunteers: ask for money deposits. \u00a0Unfortunately, the responsibilities fall upon the few that remain. \u00a0It gets exhausting and you\u2019re forced to abandon so much of your ambitious plans.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The trip isn\u2019t always easy either. \u00a0Living conditions, activities, amount of money spent, they might end up being very different than what you thought when you left home. \u00a0Complaints are abound. \u00a0It\u2019s never easy travelling in groups.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Mario_Caty\"<\/a>
Mario with Caty<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But despite all the hardships, at the end of the trip, you leave with the feeling that everything is perfect. \u00a0Well, close to it anyway. \u00a0But how? \u00a0It\u2019s then you learn that all that matters is that special bond or that special moment you share with a little boy named, Jimmy, the little girl, Santeray, the older woman, Stella, the community leader, Elbin, or even the dirty dog, Oso.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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SOS is special and the experience is unique. The long and difficult road of fundraising and organizing helps you to frame everything into perspective. \u00a0It\u2019s an accomplishment certainly worth being proud of yourself for. <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The earlier you learn this, the smoother the path becomes. \u00a0You can overcome any obstacle since anything that goes wrong won\u2019t really matter anyway. \u00a0You can become a better leader if you learn how to get people focused on the joy you\u2019ll bring to the community and the joy that you\u2019ll actually get to experience yourself.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Because it\u2019s incredible, that joy that comes from going into a community, looking into the eyes of somebody there and making a gesture that says, \u201cYou matter.\u201d \u00a0Don\u2019t we all really want to have that feeling? \u00a0Guess they\u2019re not so different from us after all. <\/span><\/b><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Guest Blogger, Mario Salvador (University of Windsor, SOS volunteer) It’s a long road to get to the Outreach Trip. \u00a0And it\u2019s almost always longer and different than what you expected. Being a part of the leadership team for Windsor SOS for three years, I’ve walked the path twice. \u00a0It took us two years to raise …<\/p>\n

All that really matters<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1500,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentsofferingsupport.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentsofferingsupport.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentsofferingsupport.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentsofferingsupport.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentsofferingsupport.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=611"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/studentsofferingsupport.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentsofferingsupport.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentsofferingsupport.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentsofferingsupport.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=611"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentsofferingsupport.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}