TMF Leadership Camp!
“If not me, then who…?” These words were spoken by 1st Lt. Travis Manion about his service in the Marine Core. Travis gave the ultimate sacrifice in his second tour to Iraq for Operation Iraq Freedom where he attempted to draw enemy fire away from the wounded in his patrol. Travis’s selfless actions earned him the Silver and Bronze Star for valor. His actions also inspired others to start The Travis Manion Foundation so he may continue to inspire others, even though he is no longer with us.
On the 19th and 20th of August, The Travis Manion Foundation partnered with Team 5401 and Team 2607 (Shoutout to Amanda and Maddie!) to help sharpen students leadership skills, give them new ones, and instill a higher level of trust in one another. Student Gavin Hinshaw says “I really got to know the people there on a deeper level and feel like I can trust them more than before. The decision making exercise taught me to not only accept the outcomes as leader, but to stand by my decisions. I’m sure that everyone else feels the same way about this experience.”
The first day was at Shafer MS and the students did basic team building exercises and played games like “The Dating Game”, where students had to act as different people and the “bachelor” had to guess who they were. After that the TMF coordinator split up the students into two groups. He then gave students a short story about a team who had to decide whether to race their car or not with limited and incomplete data. They then had to decide if they would risk the high stakes for a high reward or walk away and not lose everything due to a failure. While every person got to give their say, only one student ended up making the decision in each group. This put a lot of pressure on the decision maker. Those who did race ended up losing everything and those that didn’t, walked away empty handed, but at least with a working car. However, no matter the outcome, it taught that you have to make important decisions quickly and make the best informed one possible. TMF also gave out quality bags and a t-shirt with the TMF logo on it to wear the next day.
The second day was at Outward Bound School and was instructed by a teacher. Outward Bound isn’t like normal school as there is no pencils, paper, desks, books, etc. The classroom is the outdoors and instead of teaching about chemistry and WW1, they teach about people, working together to solve a problem, and about trusting people. The students did trust falls, trust pick-ups, ball tosses, etc. What was the highlight for most students was the ropes course where a pair went up two different trees, walked along a line, met up where the line crossed and continued to the end holding on to each other for balance. Walking quickly, or “scurrying” across the first part earned Gavin the nickname “squirrel.” This day created lasting memories in the students and helped them achieve a better level of understanding with one another. Project Manager Matthew Garfeild says, “This was an excellent experience and I am eager to apply these lessons and skills that I have learned into my life and become a better person. The entire experience was an amazing team bonding exercise and lesson in trust. I look forward to this upcoming build season, being closer than ever with my teammates. I will always remember “If not me then who…”’
Team 5401 would like to thank TMF for allowing our students this free leadership training and team building along with lasting memories. Please check out their website; http://www.travismanion.org/ and there social medias (on their website). Team 5401 would also like to thank Outward Bound for give us instruction on Saturday and for all the activities they did with us. Please check them out at http://www.outwardbound.org/ and their social medias (on their website).
