Lead to Succeed springs into action.

For Lead to Succeed spring semester stands for three things, warm weather, new students, and most of all new projects.  Last week our college project managers were introduced to the students that they will be working with this spring and the projects that they are looking to work on.   We are excited to see what they have planned and the projects that they come up with.  Here are a few posts from our College Project Managers.

"My first session was nerve racking. The first time you go do something you never have done before is a scary experience. After I went to the school and got situated, it was great. I had a great time with helping out the students. I want to be a teacher one day and helping out with the students with their project is something that is really intriguing to me.

The thing that surprised me was how much information these students know about their project. I wasn't necessary shocked with that students could have so much ability with what they knew but how some of the students could be so focused on what they were doing. The first day the students were instructed to draw out what they were going to do. What I saw within my group was how each person compensated for each other. One student could draw good, another student took charge, another student looked up information, and the other students helped out or gave ideas. They worked great together. 

I wouldn't say that the students had weaknesses other then the fact they acted like typical high school students. Strengths they have is that they know what they are doing. They need to just put it all together. The project that my group is working on is explaining to third and fourth graders the importance of water in general. Such as water filtration, facts about water, and how important water is to everyone. I am very excited because they seem passionate and focused on the task of what they want to do to demonstrate to the children.”

-Joel Guidinger

“I’m helping out at the Wisconsin Conservatory for Lifelong Learning. The first few sessions with my project team were alright. Their goal is to come up with a presentation of some sort about an aspect of water processes. One group is working on a presentation for elementary school children, while the other is working on a presentation for middle school kids.

The elementary school group is making a board game with trivia questions, and their project seems to be moving along nicely. The middle school group is presenting an animated video explaining how water gets from the lake to your sink. Though distractions and lack of focus has set them back a bit, I’m confident that they’ll be on task in the next few sessions and really get moving on a project that will turn out to be very informative.

As I mentioned, the lack of focus is a major weakness in general between most of the students. There are a couple of students that really try to bring the others back together and get them to stay on task. It’s very nice to see other students taking the initiative like that, and I’m looking forward to continuing to work with them in the coming weeks.”

-Nick Lister (Lifelong Learning)

“The Service Learning I am enrolled in takes place at Vincent High School.  The project that the student's are focusing on is a "water and health" learning guide.  They are creating a blog and doing some other outside of the classroom work to promote what they have learned.  

Recently this past Monday I had my first learning service experience.  Not all of the students showed up which made getting the project started kind of a hassle.  Otherwise, with the students there, they were very involved in doing the required research that they are supposed to do to find out information about water, and the fact with water.  

The students worked on the computers most of the time looking things up for their project.  I was not able to help as much during this part, but I was able to give them a good direction on what to research, and why it was important.  The first day was successful because the students were able to build report on things that they didn't know before.    I am very excited to see how this project turns out, hopefully more of the students make it to the next class next Monday!”

-Jennifer Sullivan (Vincent High)

“My first session with the project team was very insightful and a learning experience. I say a learning experience because I actually learned something from these kids. I also think its a great thing what they are doing in the community. 

What surprised me is how much older the kids behaved. I expected more smart mouths, simply because of their age category, but they were well behaved. 

My teams weaknesses will be staying focused and on task. They also seem interested in what they are actually doing and learning that is a very strong strength. Another strength that I see is they all seem to respect each other; this can make meeting and communicating more easily. 

My team project includes a demoralization of how TAP water and Bottled water are similar. Prior to coming here, I have always heard how both of these sources of water is similar but I never understood how or why. “

-Marquis Williams (Escuela)

Thoughts on Lead to Succeed

One of our college project managers had some kind words to say about her experience with Lead to Succeed.  Take a look for yourselves.

“My experience was rewarding in more ways than one and I couldn’t have asked for a better organization leader! My leader was Molly and she actually made the experience better because she had a great personality and was willing to get to know the students and she was very patient with the students. Not to mention she made learning a lot more fun because she found a bunch of videos and other fun activities to go along with it, this also made it more interesting.

We didn’t really get that far into the actual project because Bay View High School is still new to the organization so a lot of the students are not aware of what it really is. With that being that, there weren’t really a lot of students involved, and every week would be a different group of students. So it was a little frustrating trying to get the whole project in order and to get and keep everyone on the same page. That was the most challenging part of the whole program actually, which was just getting everyone to come to the meetings, pay attention and do what needed to be done.

Overall, I think that this program teaches everyone something whether it is about our community, the water, or us; you are learning something very important. I learned WAY more than I thought I did about water and even about my community and how lucky I truly have it. I am just really thankful for this opportunity and am happy that I got to work with so many cool people who have really big hearts and love what they are doing. When your leader enjoys what they are doing, it shows and makes you even more excited about it. This also encourages the high school students to become more excited and to be more involved. “

-Amanda Olejnizak (Bayview)

How did everyone feel about our conference kick-off?

Just had our conference kick-off and the kids retained a lot of valuable information about the water industry of Milwaukee. Here are a few posts from our College Project Managers, about the kids that they are working with and how they are enjoying the our program.

  

"I have learned that thirty-eight water technology companies have headquarters in Wisconsin, and five of the 11 largest water companies in the world have operations here. “This concentration of water industry leaders has bolstered Wisconsin’s reputation for sustainable leadership and helped make the Wisconsin-based Water Council a global authority on advanced water technology development and deployment” (inwisconsin). I have learned that we have a resource like no one else has and that there is a demand for fresh water.       I think learning about rain barrels, rain gardens, and community clean ups will impact my teams project because it shows how we can find more ways to conserve water by using a rain barrel rather to capture the rain rather than filling up buckets of water from our sinks. It could make my team realize the amount of water that we use and be more cautious in the way that we use it.        We have not yet been put into groups, but I have looked over a few of the projects that students have done in the past and I do see a connection between community cleanup and my life. I feel like we are all responsible to keep our environment clean and it is great for all of us to participate in a community cleanup every once in a while. I also see how the rain barrels can be a great tool to use when we need to water a garden. I think that is a great idea so that we do not use freshwater.          My reaction to the kickoff conference was that it was such a great experience. I was able to meet many of the other students that participate in Lead To Succeed and see how dedicated they were to show up and learn more about water companies throughout Wisconsin. I really enjoyed the workshops that were set up and my favorite part was getting to walk around and get to listen to the speakers that work with a company that deal with water. I was also able to talk to professors that teach students about water and I found it interesting that he brought a visual to show everyone."         -Taylor Ansay (YMCA) "I have been to Bayview High School around four times now and I am really starting to enjoy it! We still haven’t gotten fully into the project yet, since a lot of the students keep switching each week we have meetings, but we are finally starting to narrow it down to some of the regulars. Last week the students discovered that water is made in basically every type of food, which was very interesting to them! They had to make a list of their favorite foods and determine how water is incorporated with them! For example, one girl wrote down chicken wings and they weren’t exactly sure on how water was incorporated in them until we started from the very early stages. This is what the chickens would drink, which is water! So overall it was just really interesting to see how excited the students were when they discovered that water really is used for everything! Another exciting experience is that on Saturday we had the official kickoff Conference where the students from all around Milwaukee who are in the Lead to Succeed program came to the UWM campus! When they first got there we had free pizza, drinks, and t-shirts! While being at the conference, the students learned about different jobs in the water industry, how to be professional, about their personal logos and much more! It was an exciting, fun filled day for everyone and I am lucky that I got to be part of it! It was awesome to see how excited the students were to see what their futures are full of and also to hear their awesome ideas! Overall, I think that it was a great start to kickoff Lead to Succeed and I am excited to see where the rest of the semester will take us, learning about water and watching their projects evolve."   -Amanda Olejiniczak (Bayview Highschool) "Do you ever get that jarring sensation when you suddenly get a glimpse of another perspective that is alien to your own? I have been passionate about water resources, conservation and hydrology for so long that it was refreshing to see how students are introduced to the different aspects of some of my favorite subjects. Since I haven’t really figured out what exactly I want to do with my hydrology/conservation degree, it was enlightening to hear about the career paths of the various professionals in the water industry that were invited to speak at the conference. I had the opportunity to speak with an engineer and a geologist who had worked on the Milwaukee Deep Tunnel project, which I would have loved to be part of! As of right now, our group still hasn't pinned down the project we will focus on, but hopefully the Kickoff Conference gave them some good ideas. Most of the Milwaukee professionals who spoke to the students were enthusiastic about their careers, which I think makes more of a difference to high school students than the actual careers themselves.  I’ll admit that I caught a few napping during the breakout sessions (it was warm in the room and right after lunch), but the kids seemed to absorb the information they were given about the jobs available in the water industry, tips for being professional and the importance of taking an active leadership role in your community.  In particular, they really enjoyed the community service Jeopardy game. The students in our group at WCLL are great! They were respectful and seemed interested in the variety of jobs that were available in Wisconsin’s water industry. I can’t wait to get started on their project." -Charlene Rogers (WCLL)

Start to the 2013 Fall Semester

Kick off of the Fall 2013 Semester is on its way and the College Project Managers are very excited to get the ball rolling after meeting the students for the first time this semester.   Here are a few words from the Project managers, see for yourself how excited the Project Managers and students are:

"My first session was great. It was filled with a lot of information but I was able to learn a lot about Lead to Succeed and what we will be working on throughout the semester. Even though we had a small group the first week, in the second week I saw a lot more students come and join us, and hopefully more will come next week! What surprised me the most was that I would be a college mentor which means that I will be a main leader along with the program facilitator. That surprised me because I feel like I know just as much about water resources as the high school students do and so I wasn’t sure what to expect as to how I could help with giving information. As Petra explained, it is as much as a learning process for us as it is for them and we are there to encourage our team to think of great ideas and to help develop their project goals."

-          Taylor Ansay (YMCA)

"My first sessions with lead to succeed were eye opening to me. Going in I did not know what to expect.  I thought it was going to be a mandatory thing for the students from their schools. I was wrong. The group is filled with kids who seem passionate about the organization and about their futures.  So this was surprising to me.  My team's strengths are their dedication to the organization.  I admire that they are willing and responsible enough to come to session each week by bus and participate.  They are a really good group of kids with dedication and passion for the organization.  As of now I see no weaknesses among them." 

-          Zoe Bacik (YMCA)

"My first session was very interesting, because I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I am going to school to be an Elementary school teacher so working with High School students is something very new to me. It was the first time being at Bayview High School so it was exciting when I walked through the doors. When the students finally made it to the room, I greeted 9 boys who were interested in Lead to Succeed.

This is the first time doing the Lead to Succeed program at Bayview High School so the first few sessions were all about getting the information out to the students, recruiting other students and getting all of the paper work situation.

Something that surprised me last week was how motivated the students were to get involved and get a job. They were very excited about the job portion of this program, especially since some of them have never had a job before. This was exciting to me because I feel as though the more energized the students are about this program, the more serious they are going to take it so that they can get a career and be successful!"

-          Amanda Olejniczak (Bayview High School)

Like all of our College Project Managers, Lead to Succeed is also very excited to see what the students come up with and to see their success throughout the semester.  

Make sure to follow Lead to Succeed on Twitter and like our Facebook page too.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LTSMilwaukee

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leadtosucceed.milwaukee?fref=ts&ref=br_tf

Our Website: http://www.lead-to-succeed.com/

Last Thoughts

Thursday, May 9, 2013

As the Spring 2013 semester is ending the Project Managers are giving their final thoughts. All of the Project Managers this spring have been very diligent in giving the most up to date information about their team and how they are progressing.

“I have learned a lot from working with Lead to Succeed! I have made significant improvements on my leadership skills and have a new sense of responsibility while I attended the program every week. Through this volunteer opportunity I have learned how much a small group of people can make such a difference on conservation in Milwaukee and throughout the United States. It will help me in the future because I will take the skills and confidence I have gained through Lead to Succeed and carry it on to future volunteer projects as well as my own career.” – Lacy – NeuLife

Final Projects will be updated once the semester ends. Stay updated with the Lead to Succeeds blog and Facebook to see how the Spring 2013 Celebration Ceremony goes! The Celebration Ceremony showcases all of the projects the Project Managers and students have worked on throughout the year as well as shows all of the businesses that have contributed to Lead to Succeed’s students success!

Melanie's take on Lead to Succeed

Melanie, one of our project managers at Lead to Succeed explains how her group project is coming along and how their project is affecting her students and herself.

“Our Lead to Succeed project addresses the issue of waste and pollution in our water. On this our third meet up, we focused particularly on the poor quality of the Milwaukee River and how we contribute significantly to this trash buildup that seems to increase on a daily basis. I definitely feel that this issue affects my life. I have learned so much from working with these kids about water conservation and management, and how to prevent my own waste from polluting our waterways.

            I also feel that this issue will affect my high school students. These students are learning even more than I am because they are completely hands on with this project. They are the ones finding the information that will be used in their final presentation and they are the ones coming up with different ideas for how they can showcase the amount of waste each person creates every day. These kids have grown significantly in the few weeks that I’ve worked with them, and even if they don’t end up changing their water-using habits significantly, they will think twice before they leave the sink running while brushing their teeth in the morning or taking that unnecessarily long shower after school!

As project manager, I am getting my team of students engaged and interested in this project by asking them to find how it is most closely related to them. When I was in high school, I always learned best when there was some type of visual or physical representation, so with these kids, we came up with different ideas of how they use and can then re-use water in their daily activities. The kids were especially interested in the project when they found out that they could talk about athletics and sports the importance of hydrating with clean, safe water.”

            As you can tell Melanie believes this project has and will continue to affect herself and her group of students. Lead to Succeed hopes that all of their students are as engaged and excited as Melanie's group!

What barriers have the teams faced?

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

This week, the College Project Managers were asked to tell us how their teams are were coming along.  They also were asked to elaborate on their barriers that their team's are facing and how they will overcome them. Here's what they had to say! 

“My team’s project is coming along smoothly. There are still lots of things we need to get done, but we have come a long way. Our Lead to Succeed group has been divided into subgroups. The teams interaction with each other has come a long way and has helped with creating their game. They have begun to understand the software and so far it seems like a lot of fun. 

As a team, the students work together very nicely and have come up with some great collaborative ideas. 

The only obstacles we have had with the team’s success are absences.  A couple of the students have been absent a couple times which make for an obstacle but we ended up creating a team email when needed. We have used this in contacting someone to interview. That way if a student is absent, it will not hinder the rest of the group. “ 

– Paula – PLI

 

“The team is progressing on schedule. It’s amazing to see how far we’ve come in such a short period of time! After meeting with a representative from a River Revitalization group for a practice interview, the team met with a local environmental leader to do the real thing. Using the interview skills and techniques we taught them in class and the questions we crafted they conducted a successful interview with someone from which they got valuable information. The interview will be a great addition to the burgeoning website. 

I’m Happy to report that the team, which is made up of a bunch of kids from a handful of different high schools, has meshed well together. Like any sports or business team, our group of young environmentalists and ambitious thinkers has set aside their differences for the greater good of the whole. The result has been one primary focus which has gotten us closer to our goal of contributing to Milwaukee’s environmental conscience. The students may come from different backgrounds, but they all share the same enthusiastic approach to working n our project. 

We have encountered a few barriers to team success. Unfortunately, my team partner Rachel and I have not been able to make that last couple of meetings. The students have shown a remarkable amount of determination and independence in our absence. Even though spring break and health concerns have gotten in the way of the meetings, Rachel and I have been diligent in our preparation and action with the program. We can’t wait to attend more meetings, spend more time with the students and continue our path to the end goal of a completed project. “– Michael - PLI

 

“Our team is making extensive progress over the past couple of weeks. After completing the interview questions we had worked on for a few weeks, we actually conducted 2 full interviews. The project is at its final stretch of conducting more interviews and then proceeding to edit them. The team is going above and beyond by meeting outside of the typical meeting days. They are meeting at different locations to conduct the interviews and are doing a wonderful job!

The team in itself is also progressing and continuing to work well together. They are complementing one another more and more as time passes. They are coming together to complete this project and are still working well under a time crunch.

Some barriers that we have come across are sound quality, in regards to the interviews, scheduling interviews with organizations, and the technology itself. These are all things that the group was able to overcome and figure out all together. This was one of many times that the group exemplified problem solving strategies. This group has shown massive progress and I am proud of them or their ability to work towards completion of this project.”- Rachel - PLI