For my Silver Award Project,  I decided to look at what really needed to change in my community. I noticed that the kids at my school scorned technology, not knowing the benefits that could come from it. I had a similar mindset last year, until my good friend changed my mind. Now at a new school, I decided to change as many people's minds about technology as I could. I created a technology club that would last for years to come.

     First,  I developed a plan for making my  dream into a reality. I realized that I would need a lesson plan, kids to join, a teacher to sponsor, and a room with computers. My first step was to secure the room and teacher's help; after all, I needed to know that it wasn't just an idea. Before I started recruiting people, I needed a basis, a foundation. I wound up with a room full of iMacs and a dedicated teacher. Now I set the dates; it would be every Friday afternoon after school for an hour. Now that I had my basic plan, it was time for the most important and most difficult element; the members.

     My school is made up of about 100 people, all of whom I met recruiting for the Tech Team, as I began to call it. I went around asking people if they liked or were interested in technology, payed careful attention to who was having computer troubles and who was helping fix them. I went from having one member, myself, to pushing until I had eight. It seemed hopeless, but with a lot of perseverance and resilience I managed to get it done. 

     Now comes the time of mistakes, the time where I lose a lot of members and time, because I  do not yet know how to lead a group. I had neglected one crucial aspect which set off a domino effect of problems; I had no real lesson plan. I tried to make the first meeting fun, even though only two people came. Every meeting for a long time wound up with no real achievements. I just didn't have the leadership skills required. When we tried to recreate a Harry Potter movie, I found myself face to face with all of the challenges teachers go through every day. My plan wasn't working, so I desperately fought to keep it alive. My good friends kept coming, so they made sure that we didn't run completely out of members. I knew that I had to pull my act together, and learn some leadership skills quickly.

     The meeting after my resolution to become a better leader, I had everyone sit down. I decided to teach them about the software that we would be using. I figured that we could use a relatively quiet meeting to realize that we could pull through. It seemed to work, so we had several more meetings like that following. From my time when the team was too hard to control, I  found my dictator-like leadership style sticking with me. I felt ashamed of this, and tried to simply start a conversation and guide the work. We were a team, and we should act like one. Everybody seemed much happier with this, and I realized that I had gained the skills of a true leader. I now knew when to listen, to make talking all the better.

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