“Speak for the silent and stand for the broken.” These were the words of motivational speaker Mike Smith at the California Association of Directors of Activities Leadership Camp, a four day long camp which began on July 18 at the University of California, Santa Barbara for ASBL members of California.
Nine members of ASBL chose to attend CADA. The camp packed all yearly ASB events into four days with each council taking responsibility for one task, such as a talent show, rally or staff appreciation.
“I went to CADA with the expectation for it to be informative and just an average, educational, how-to camp,” Freshman Class President Caroline Chen said. “However in reality, it’s mind blowing. Not only did I learn about almost every single ASB activity, but they also provided examples of how to do it.”
Students formed councils of twenty based on randomly assigned numbers given at the beginning of the camp. Within councils, students communicated their ideas freely and worked on their skills together. Public Relations Director Sophomore Rachel Lin and Fundraising Commissioner Senior Staci Lu were in the same council and needed to host a talent show. Within the span of two days, their council planned it, created a theme, held tryouts and callbacks and decorated the auditorium.
“We called the talent show ‘May the Talent Be with You,’” Lin said. “We painted a six foot tall poster of Darth Vader to hang up for it. I also met so many encouraging people who were extremely helpful in planning and decorating.”
Throughout the time at camp, daily speakers lectured about skills such as conflict resolution and involving others in events. ASBL members learned the importance of taking everyone’s ideas into consideration, realizing ASB is a team instead of one person and not waiting until last minute to plan things.
“One thing I learned was that we need to find a way to please everyone. For example, someone that doesn’t like to attend dances should have other activities available to them,” Freshman Class Vice President Charles Liu said. “At assemblies, if friends are volunteering their friends, I learned not to choose the person because he will be less likely to participate than the people who volunteered themselves. I will definitely use all this information and more in the events that will occur this year.”
While attending CADA mainly for knowledge on leadership skills, ASBL members met new people with unique personalities. Whether they witnessed students from other schools putting on an event or worked alongside those students, they were able to experience leadership with others who shared the same passion.
“I really loved the experience of making new friends who are weird and loud, similar to my personality,” Liu said. “I loved learning with them and discovering more about each other through the camp. I also admired all the motivational speakers.”
Students had the experience of rooming, eating in the dining hall, using shower stalls and interacting with UCSB campus staff, giving seniors insight into college life.