If there was only one word I could use to describe our trip to the Baltic region this summer, I would say it was definitely immersive. A large part of the trip was student-led with the itinerary for each of the countries planned out by the students. The planning took initiative on our part, and as a result, the rest of the IR fellows and I certainly felt proud of our work as the awesome trip panned out day by day. This created an excellent opportunity to immerse us into a real-world situation of planning a trip, and it prepared us for similar moments in the future. Likewise, we developed a keen first-hand understanding of different cultures, leadership styles, and even ourselves as people in an amazingly short amount of time. The cultures of Finland, Estonia, and Russia were fascinating, in each of their own ways, and very different from our own. Our total immersion in these foreign countries, as both travelers and students, was one of the coolest aspects of the trip. I was able to learn so much about other’s way of life by active observation, interaction and discussion. This experience made me more open minded and aware of the pitfalls of cultural stereotypes. As I found in Russia not everyone was as cold as rumored.
Similar to culture, we learned so much about how to be a good leader each and every day. Each day we had a different student leader who had countless opportunities to successfully lead our group through simple and difficult obstacles. Our Teacher mentors allowed the leaders to learn from mistakes along the way. The combination of jet lag, foreign foods, strange languages and unknown cities set up realistic real-world scenarios, and I feel that it helped heighten my leadership skills. I learned many things about being a fair but firm leader of a group. I learned the importance of the small but important things like bouncing ideas or plans off those who are older or more experienced before taking action. I hope to keep reflecting on the multiple mistakes and successes that occurred during my particular day and also learn from the successes and failures of the other leaders of the day to become the best leader I can.
I also learned a lot about myself through this trip. The real life aspect and immersion of the whole trip allowed me to stumble and recognize some flaws in my nature. Throughout my day as leader the weaker sides of my character began to shine, but thanks to advice from my older peers and teachers, I was able to improve upon them as the trip progressed. In the future I will try my hardest to be more confident and natural with myself, in both leadership and everyday moments. I would not have learned these valuable lessons if I was not afforded the opportunities on this trip. Our journey together was one of the most valuable and influential experiences of my life so far and will stay with me forever. I am very thankful for such an amazing opportunity to experience different cultures and to develop my character. As a result of this amazing journey I know that I am better equipped and able to help better my community now and in the future.
-Jimmy Peccie, ‘18
