This week was also a short week at Best Buddies given the Holiday and our Training at the Columbus Foundation this last Wednesday. However, the time I spent at Best Buddies was very productive, as I spent it preparing for our two major events that we having coming up next week: the Annual Leadership Conference and an Ambassador Training on Monday.

This will be my first time at an Ambassador Training and at the Best Buddies Annual Leadership Conference, so I have a mix of emotions regarding how prepared I feel for them. Nonetheless, I am extremely excited for both of them and see them as an opportunity to demonstrate what I have learned from my supervisors and to learn more about engaging with Individuals with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. I have been able to engage with a multitude of Best Buddies staff members and have been gaining a lot of insight to both working with Individuals with an Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and coordinating a large-scale event such as a weekend-long conference.

Furthermore, I see the Ambassador Training on Monday as a great opportunity to prepare myself for my role at Leadership Conference, since my main responsibility throughout the conference will be to work with Best Buddies Ambassadors. I will get an inside look as to what is expected of me and what skills I need to work on before the weekend.

This entire week has put into perspective the importance of preparing for your tasks-especially when others are depending on you. Taking the time to evaluate your progress and determining what still needs to be accomplished or changed allows for your best results. Self-reflection/awareness is another component of successful preparation and this was something I was able to do fairly frequently this last week.