#yliclassof2020

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The Power of Taking Action

By Alyssa Fick (YLI ‘20)

What is the first thing you would say to introduce yourself to a stranger? A year and a half ago I walked into a room of 39 strangers. I had butterflies in my stomach as I wrestled around in my mind, trying to decide how I should introduce myself. The forty of us had been selected to be part of the YLI class of 2020 and this moment was the beginning of our story. Prior to that day, I had not been exposed to important social issues such as equity, food insecurity, and mental health, yet I was eager to dive in. This is the moment my perspective began to shift.

Admittedly, I still had butterflies in my stomach after that first meeting. I noticed how bold some of my peers were. Being a quieter leader, it made me question my abilities. However, as the program continued, and I began to learn about my own personal leadership style. My peers and I did activities together. They showed me that not all leaders are the same and that is ok. I never had the same role in these activities and my peers made sure my voice could always be heard. The group was supportive and gave me a sense of community as we learned together.

One day, we traveled to the YMCA Supportive Housing Campus, a place that supports those with housing insecurity. I heard about the work the YMCA did and noticed residents walking around. I had never thought about the housing insecurity before. At that moment, I realized that I have the opportunity to make a difference in my community. I felt a sense of empathy for those who were homeless, without food, struggled with mental health issues, and dealt with inequality. YLI helped me see these issues firsthand.

I will never stop yearning to learn more and to grow as a person. I can always be better. However, YLI taught me that it isn’t all about me. Yes, I can grow and learn more about those in need around me but what is that worth without action? Seeing those in need and learning about the ways my community needs me, I gained a greater sense of passion, awareness, and humility.

Through my YLI peers, I learned to embrace our differences. I have kept in touch with some of my peers and become more involved in my community. That sense of purpose and awareness inspires me to volunteer monthly at my local food pantry. I see those in need as I gather their food items. I have also gone back to the YMCA Supportive Housing Campus to volunteer, where one of the residents wrote a note to my group, thanking us for our work. I noticed in these moments of personal growth I feel a new sense of hope. Because of them, I will continue to use what I learned, using my own personal leadership style, to make a difference in the lives of others.

Alyssa is a senior at Bondurant-Farrar High School and plans to attend Iowa State in the fall, majoring in Elementary Education and minoring in Spanish.

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Turning Lessons into Practice

By Claire Bissmeyer (YLI ‘20) and current peer mentor

For the first time in a while, I felt completely at peace. My favorite part of our last YLI experience day was our yoga session with Ben Spellman. In the beginning we were told to find a comfortable seat. I sat cross-legged on the floor taking slow breaths in and out. Ben spoke, instructing us to relax our shoulders and soften our eyes. The class was immersive and calming. Afterwards I felt relaxed and motivated to focus more on my mental and physical well-being.

My name is Claire Bissmeyer and I am a senior at Roosevelt High School. I graduated from YLI in 2020 and have been given the incredible opportunity to return this year as a peer mentor. YLI has been a huge part of my growth not only as a leader, but as a person. Becoming a peer mentor has allowed me to apply my newly found leadership skills to the planning and execution of experience days for this year’s class.

On February 8th, 2021, we explored well-being in the mind and body. I had the pleasure of helping plan this experience day, and seeing it come to light was marvelous. This was an important topic for the students and mentors as we discussed everything from mental health to physical well-being. Our main focus was to dive into the six dimensions of wellness provided by adult mentor, Marina Verlengia, and discuss the importance of self-care. We had a variety of guest speakers including Emmalee Bowlin from Please Pass the Love, Lyssa Wade owner of Veggie Thumper, and Ben Spellman founder of Good Vibes Yoga and the Good Vibes Movement.

We began with an overview of the dimensions of wellness (physical, emotional, occupational, intellectual, social, and spiritual) then assessed ourselves on what dimensions we were strongest in, and which we needed to improve. We took the time to discuss in small groups and compare our results. I believe that reflecting out loud with others was a great way to fully internalize the purpose of this activity.

After diving into the dimensions, we heard from Emmalee about the stigma around mental health and the importance of self-care. Emmalee utilized engaging activities and reflection questions during her time that helped me further understand the value of my own mental health.

A short while later, we learned about the delicious vegan lunch Lyssa prepared for us. She spoke of how she got into veganism and how she shares her healthy eating habits through her business, Veggie Thumper. I learned the importance of taking small steps when converting to a plant-based diet. It is difficult to switch to vegan, but the positive environmental impact is worth it.

After lunch, we came back and shared our favorite workout gear (yes, this is a photo of participant Josh, with the most creative workout gear!) before being blessed with the opportunity to try yoga with Ben and learn more about the Good Vibes Movement. Although Good Vibes started as a yoga studio, it has expanded into a movement with the intent of increasing wellness in our community. Good Vibes provides acts of service, a strong community, and of course, yoga classes for everyone to enjoy. We wrapped up the day with Erik, further embarking on our speak up story journey and finally getting the opportunity to create our first drafts.

Throughout the day, I learned the importance of reflecting on personal well-being, then focusing on bettering the well-being of others. One of my favorite parts of the day was discussing mental health questions in our small groups. Having the peer mentors lead the activity helped the students open up and feel more comfortable talking about a difficult topic. During the day I saw all five leadership practices at work. Marina and the six dimensions of wellness helped inspire a shared vision among the group, allowing us to identify which dimensions we need to improve and inspiring us to work on them. Emmalee enabled others to act by showing statistics and explaining the stigma around mental health, then sharing simple ways we can help ourselves and others in our community who may be experiencing mental health issues. Lyssa showed us how to challenge the process when it comes to what we eat. We don’t have to choose what’s “easy” when it comes to our diets, instead we can do research to find healthy alternatives to the foods we eat daily. The peer mentors modeled the way during our work out gear activity by putting on their favorite active wear and grabbing their favorite workout equipment. Their cooperation made the students more comfortable to participate and share. Ben encouraged the heart during his yoga class by giving us words of encouragement the entire session. He helped us persevere while also giving alterations for some poses so that they were inclusive of everyone’s individual abilities.

Our call to action during this experience day was to take what we learned and apply it to our lives outside of YLI. After learning more about mental health, I will be less afraid to discuss it with people in my life, making everyone aware that there shouldn’t be a stigma around the topic. After hearing from Lyssa and trying the delicious lunch, I have been convinced to eat less meat and animal products (I am currently pescatarian but there is always room for improvement). After trying yoga with Ben, I want to implement more yoga into my schedule which will help my physical and mental well-being. I am so glad I got to be a part of planning and helping run this experience day, it was a huge success and I hope the students will use their new knowledge to better the well-being of themselves and the community.