Looking back at LFS 250, unlike most people I’ve talked to, I loved that course! I made some lifetime friends; my breakout room members and I went to dinner together a lot (almost all 30 of us!) and I gained a lot of hands on experience. I was hoping this year would be even more amazing but unfortunately that wasn’t the case.
I’m not sure why but the sense of community wasn’t there. I believe that it dependents on which project and community partner you get to work with, and I think that’s what made the difference for me.
For next year, I recommend that community partners be clear on the projects they provide. In my case, our community partner said that they provided a describtion of a project they didn’t need just because it was required that community partners provide a quick summery of the CBEL project. Because we based our choices on the description that was provided, we ended up working on something we weren’t interested or invested in. It wasn’t hands on nor did we get to work with the community that much. Either way, none of my group members got any of their top 3 choices for the CBEL projects.
All in all, it was a great opportunity to learn that you don’t always get what you want but regardless of that you should give it your all because your community partner and your team members are all depending on you and your group dynamic.
-H