Finding Our Footing (Part II)
By Allie Avard ‘18, Robyn-Lee Hotte ‘18, Joe Ribbins ‘18 and Noah Storey ‘18
The question we have been asked the most since the conference wrapped up is: “Was it worth it?” Those four words hold a lot of weight, was it worth what? All the stress? The long hours? The sleepless nights? The sheer energy it takes to organize a conference? The response is, as it must be; of course. Of course it was worth it, because it wasn’t all time constraints and exhaustion, it wasn’t just hiccups and mishaps; it was joy, it was fulfillment, it was connection, it was pride.
The night before the delegates arrived brought along a lot of mixed emotions - excitement being the most prominent. We had already faced the worst of it, the planning was over and we were finally going to have something tangible to show for our hard work. That night we decided that we weren’t going to have our regularly scheduled meeting at 8:00 p.m., that it was best for us to take the night for ourselves. We all went to bed that night, some of us slept soundly, some of us didn’t sleep at all, but we felt confident about the next day. It was strange when we realized, cozied up in bed, that the names we’d been pouring over were finally going to have a face, that the activities we’d planned were actually going to happen. It wasn’t until delegates arrived at our doorstep that we realized the conference was running whether we were ready or not, and it was petrifying, but thankfully we were prepared for anything.
The first day went by in a blur, we spent all morning setting up with our POD leaders, and once delegates started arriving we spent the afternoon signing the schools in as they came. It seemed as though there was constantly something to do, either a nametag to fix; or a book to find; or a game to play, little problems would arise and it we’d go into a mini panic. Looking back, those problems did not warrant an ounce of panic, and as the conference progressed we got better at assessing the severity of problems.
The Thursday went by relatively painlessly, a few things had to be moved around due to unforeseen issues, but it overall went really well. Both of our keynote speakers were very well received by the delegates, and the question portion of the presentations saw the inquisitive students asking deep, thoughtful questions. It is hard to describe why we felt pride in those times, it felt like these connections to meaningful problems in the world were in part because of us, and that was amazing. That night, however, was the night that we were informed that our closing speaker on Saturday was sick in Spain and wouldn’t be able to make it in. Panic within the four student organizers ensued, thankfully our amazing staff advisors had come up with a solution before telling us so we were calmed pretty easily.
As Friday rolled around we were becoming drained, but we fell into our patterns. This conference really brought out where we excelled. Robyn-Lee spent most of her time behind a desk writing thank you letters and dealing with paper issues; Allie was out with the POD leaders making sure the schedule was being followed and that everyone was on task; Joe and Noah excelled at making connections with the delegates and POD leaders; always keeping up with what was going well and helping keep up the social side to having 100+ teens together. We all fell into our individual roles, and we played our parts well.
Saturday was the last day of the conference and throughout the day the students were asked to reflect on their learnings. We took this day to relax, most of it was spent in the classrooms as we all took time to take in what we pulled off. For the first time in months, the four of us finally felt as though we were friends again, not just co-organizers. We listened to each group as they presented their learnings to the rest of the conference, and pride filled our hearts. Through it all we feared that no one would connect with our theme, Finding our Footing, but our fears were proved wrong when we heard all of the delegates tell us their takeaways.
Circling back to the question: was it worth it? Yes, of course. Of course it was worth it, even if only one student got something out of the conference it would have been worth it. We wanted to hold this conference because we wanted to make a difference, and with all of the positive comments we’ve been hearing; we know we succeeded.
School Information
4391 County Road 29, Lakefield Ontario K0L 2H0 705.652.3324 admissions@lcs.on.ca
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Lakefield College School is a private, coeducational boarding and day school for students in grades 9 through 12, located in Lakefield, Ontario, Canada.
We respectfully acknowledge that Lakefield College School is located on the Treaty 20 Michi Saagiig territory and in the traditional territory of the Michi Saagiig and Chippewa Nations, collectively known as the Williams Treaties First Nations, which include: Curve Lake, Hiawatha, Alderville, Scugog Island, Rama, Beausoleil, and Georgina Island First Nations. Lakefield College School respectfully acknowledges that the Williams Treaties First Nations are the stewards and caretakers of these lands and waters in perpetuity and that they continue to maintain this responsibility to ensure their health and integrity for generations to come.
We respectfully acknowledge that Lakefield College School is located on the Treaty 20 Michi Saagiig territory and in the traditional territory of the Michi Saagiig and Chippewa Nations, collectively known as the Williams Treaties First Nations, which include: Curve Lake, Hiawatha, Alderville, Scugog Island, Rama, Beausoleil, and Georgina Island First Nations. Lakefield College School respectfully acknowledges that the Williams Treaties First Nations are the stewards and caretakers of these lands and waters in perpetuity and that they continue to maintain this responsibility to ensure their health and integrity for generations to come.
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