Dorm Captaincy Reflection

Student Name	Yasmyn Ntege
Activity Name / Description	Dorm Captaincy
Location	Dorms
Was it C, A, S or a combination?	CREATIVITY, ACTION & SERVICE
Hours of CAS	9 Months
Dates (Initiation – Completion)	August 2015 – June 2016

This year I was selected by a panel of teachers to become a dorm captain in the youngest girls’ block: Block 1. It was the greatest learning experience and I am grateful for the opportunity to have led and run a block of young impressionable girls. I was entailed to assist the girls in anyway possible and be the bridge between the teachers and students.

Dorm captaincy was really the area where I had to visibly showcase my skills as a leader. I was constantly being watched by either the students or the teachers and so the pressure to be a good example was very prominent. The decisions I made had to be approved by both students and teachers and such decisions are hard to make seeing as I am a student myself and I had to make sure that I didn’t come off as too biased. This could be when I either lean to much onto the students’ side and let my feelings take over or when I would lean to much on to the teachers’ side and seem above the students. Both of these situations were unfavourable so I had to work out how to lie just in between. Of course it was impossible to be completely unbiased but I tried to display utmost fairness in my role.

I had to become more outgoing and always be in control of the situation. It wasn’t pleasant for the kids to have a leader who is confused and so, even in my worst of moods, I managed to put on a smile and remain composed. I also learnt how to separate my feelings from work. There were times when I was extremely lazy to, for example, wake up in the morning for morning exercise but then I gained the willpower to overcome this laziness and I think that has really helped me in the long-run. I used to be very lazy but now with so many things that I have to get done, I have lessened that bad habit.

Since I was not the only dorm captain in block one, I had to work collaboratively with two other captains who were both in DP2. This meant that towards the end of the year, they had to pull out a bit to focus on studying for their final exams and so a lot of the work was on me. They eventually brought in a second dorm captain in my grade, DP1 to help out which was a relief. Before they brought her however, in order to cope, we elected wing leaders who were among the students of the block who would help manage the lot. This was a win-win as they benefitted from experience of being a leader and some of the workload was taken off me before. With the fellow dorm captains, we often sat together to discuss issues and problems we sometimes faced.

When it came to issues of global importance, I wanted to sprinkle a little feminism onto them and I did that through having activities based on body acceptance and constantly empowering them as women. I also had to consider the ethical consideration of my actions when giving out punishments. I understand that using exercise as a punishment is wrong but it truly was the only thing the girls were afraid of doing – more exercise. I however gave the option of either morning exercise or cleaning the lounge. The popular option was morning excercse and it seemed to work. I also had a block 1 lateness system where the girls had to leave the block on time in order to deplete the theft that goes on during the time where there are few people in dorms and no supervision. This minimized the theft by a lot and we only had 1 minor case in the last few months.

As a dorm captain, we also have to plan for residential events which admittedly, took up a lot of my time but also proved to be quite enjoyable. I was elected to be residential representative and so was in charge of the dorm captains and all major actions taken by us. I had to lead meetings which in the beginning was a bit hard because I was new and we still had DP2 captains but towards the end, I think I really pulled through. The events this year were talent night, cultural night, formal night, sports weekend and awards night.

All in all, I enjoyed my time as a dorm captain and have learnt a lot about not only myself but also, other people around me. These include teachers, fellow captains and the students I was leading.

SUPERVISOR: Mrs. Stella Wangu & Mrs. Pam Mokua