Last week members of the FCCLA organization and several students in teacher Wendy Neyland’s class traveled to Huntsville for a leadership trip.

Upon arrival, the students were separated into three groups. Throughout the day they participated in different games to work with their leadership and teamwork skills.

“At first I was a bit upset that I wasn’t grouped with my friends,” sophomore Makayla Gilliam said. “But at the end of the day it was worth it because I interacted with different students.”

The teams had to set goals for themselves and choose something they wanted to learn by the end of the day about themselves or somebody else on their team. The majority of the goals students set for their team was to excel in the games and finish them.

“Our team goal was to win, win, win,” freshman Yessi Buitron said. “Also, we wanted to work together as a team without any conflict.”

Neyland said she organized the trip so students could experience something they haven’t before and so students could have fun and learn about leadership at the same time.

“It was a positive experience for the students,” Neyland said. “I hope that they took something valuable from this trip that they can cherish forever.”

According to the students, each group played different games as the others. Each game had a deeper meaning – for example, there were games where the students could not talk with one another that demonstrated the importance of communication.

“The purpose of the game was to use different means of communication besides talking,” sophomore Trevor King said. “It was difficult at first, but after several tries we got it done.”

Another team played a game where there were four platforms. They had to use a wooden board to transfer everyone in the team from one platform to the other.

“It was really fun,” junior Olivia Kitson said. “It helped us learn how to work together as a team.”

Most of the students said they enjoyed the trip and that it was essential because it taught them that leadership is very important and cooperation with one another is key to accomplishing goals.

“I really enjoyed the leadership games,” sophomore Breannali Dominguez said. “It brought everyone out of their comfort zone and take the lead.”

Although the trip was fun, they’ve all said that they took something more than just fun from the trip; they took an opportunity to grow as leaders.

“It was an amazing experience,” freshman Kimberly Guevara said. “I’d love to go back.”