Rockin’ Rohan
Making Rohan’s wish come true was one of the most fulfilling moments of my life.
I was an Officer for the Eagle Outreach Club during my senior year in high school. The club’s primary purpose was to host a MAD week each year, which stands for Make A Difference, where we put on different events and raise money for our foundation of choice. Last year, our cause was The Make-A-Wish Foundation. The Make-A-Wish Foundation raises money for children all over the world with a critical illness or disability in order for them to receive a ‘wish’.
Through the foundation, we were able to raise money for what they call a “sponsor child.” My school’s sponsor child for MAD week was named Rohan. Rohan is ten years old and he suffered from a rare kidney disease and hip dysplasia. This has caused him to undergo over 20 surgeries in his lifetime and the doctors estimated that due to his hip, he wouldn’t be able to walk again after the age of eight. However, with much trial and error, Rohan was able to regain his ability to walk.
Since then, Rohan has had an incredible recovery and is now fully healed from his kidney disease. Our school was able to raise $40,000 in order to grant his wish to go to Hawaii, and the wishes of four other children. Although the results of MAD week far exceeded our expectations, it was a long and bumpy road to get there.
Being an Officer in Eagle Outreach was a very demanding position, but nonetheless, very rewarding. I faced many challenges which resulted in many lessons learned.
The first lesson I learned was how delegation is essential. This might seem obvious at first because no one can do everything all by themselves. Knowing how to delegate responsibilities based on individual differences is crucial. People have diverse backgrounds, skills, personalities, and motivations. Learning to recognize and respect these differences is essential for effective management.
In addition, delegating tasks and responsibilities to team members is necessary for both your workload management and for empowering your team members to grow and contribute. I noticed a huge difference in how willing and ready the club members were to help out after they had already been assigned and completed new tasks and projects.
Moreover, I was able to understand firsthand the importance of leading by example. Your actions and behavior set the tone for your team. Leading by example and demonstrating the values and work ethic you expect from others is essential. How can you ever expect those who are taking direction from you to work hard and have passion for your project, if it is not demonstrated to them?
For instance, there were five Officers for Eagle Outreach. All of the Officers were expected to show up to the meetings, plan our projects and activities, organize events, and more. However, we rarely had all five Officers at a meeting due to other commitments and time restraints. This was a demonstration to the club members that the club was not a priority for all of us. We reaped the consequences when members wouldn’t show up or not take our work seriously.
As we approached MAD week, we realized the importance of making the club a priority to achieve our goals and in turn demonstrated our commitment to the rest of the club. As soon as it was clear how the mission was a priority to all of the officers the shift in attendance and effort from club members was very noticeable.
Finally, and most importantly, I learned how service for others is the most fulfilling project. Over the serval months of planning for MAD week, it was easy to lose sight of the purpose. We weren’t able to meet Rohan until the final day of MAD week, so there were times when it was hard to remember what all of the hard work and effort was going towards. Nevertheless, I have never felt a moment filled with more purpose than when I was able to meet Rohan and we put on an assembly where he was the star.
Our MAD week was filled with events during and after school to raise money and it required an immense amount of planning, organization, marketing, and work for the events to succeed. Our biggest events were both held on Friday. We had an all-school assembly to raise more awareness for Rohan, and we had a talent show after school that was volunteer-based, which raised the most money for the cause.
Seeing Rohan run out to the middle of the gym during the assembly and dance on the stage during the talent show with the biggest smile on his face, knowing that just a few years prior he was told that it would never be possible for him to walk again, was a very emotional experience. I knew at that moment that I was a part of something bigger, not just a club with my friends that would be a good ‘experience.’ I was helping make a family’s and a child’s dream come true.
As cheesy as that sounds, I saw how our efforts affected Rohan and his family. He had his siblings, parents, aunts, and grandparents come out for this event. His family had to go through so many trials with Rohan at such a young age. Being a part of Eagle Outreach and having the opportunity to make Rohan’s wish come true was the most fulfilling project I have ever been a part of.
Service is the ultimate form of altruism and making a positive impact on another’s life brings a deep sense of personal satisfaction, happiness, and purpose. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to be a part of something bigger than myself, and I urge each and every one of you to jump at a chance to do the same.