If you talk to me often enough or see my Facebook posts, you will know that I talk about CYL a lot! In late 2017, my grade 11 and 12 students founded the Cambodian Youth Leadership (CYL) club. We learn about Leadership, practice English, and gain new experiences through various activities such as impromptu speeches, research projects, and celebrating international holidays together. After the previous Grade 12 cohort graduated, we are left with only 9 members. I asked them if they wanted to recruit more, but due to schedule conflicts and language barriers, we decided to focus on the growth of the current 9 members. On March 3, CYL members successfully completed the biggest challenge I've given them so far: host a workshop for University Preparation! It took me 2 weeks to teach CYL members about Resume/CV, Personal Statement, Scholarships, and how to host events (planning, attendance, ice breakers, feedbacks, etc). The English to Khmer translations definitely wasn’t easy either. Since my Khmer isn't fluent and our target audience English skills aren't strong either, we decided that the CYL members will become translators for each portion of the workshop. This led me to the idea that maybe they could just do the presentation themselves if I teach them well enough. This would be a great leadership activity too. While they were nervous, they all agreed to lead a session during the workshop. Some were more nervous than others especially because they have never spoken publicly or taken a leadership role. It took them 2 additional weeks to master each of their assigned tasks. I already knew they’re hardworking students, but I was so surprised and impressed by how diligent they were about preparing their tasks. They ask to meet with me during their lunch breaks and free periods during school hours to practice, even when they literally don't have additional free time besides this. They message me every day to ask questions or get confirmations. They literally went above and beyond for this on top of their already heavy work load. The workshop was also a success. They dealt with the unexpected situations well, and also performed their parts perfectly. Words can't fully describe how proud of them I was/am! (Top Row, L to R): Chornai, Sy Eng, Chantha, Peter (Veasna), Sok Lis
(Bottom Row, L to R): Vorthna, Veasna, Me, Tong Meng, Sambath
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Christine can be reached at [email protected].
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