Exploring leadership through service: Reflections from my high school’s June Academy

After final exams, I participated in June Academy, a four-day program at my high school where students can explore topics that aren’t usually part of the regular curriculum. I chose a course called Leading Through Service: Finding Purpose in Giving Back, taught by two teachers who are passionate about community service.

Each day, we partnered with a different community organization in the Greater Boston area. Before the course began, I was mostly thinking about the role I would play in each service project. By the end of the week, I found myself asking different questions, not only about the people being served, but also about the organizations that make service possible.

One of our first stops was Cradles to Crayons, which provides clothing, school supplies, and other essentials to children experiencing poverty. As we sorted donations, I learned more about clothing insecurity and how access to everyday items like coats, shoes, and backpacks can affect a child’s daily life. What surprised me most, though, was how much thought goes into the process behind the scenes. Clothing is sorted, inspected, organized, and matched to children’s needs before it ever reaches a family. I had always thought about the donations themselves. That day, I became much more interested in the systems that make those donations useful.

Later in the week, we worked at Codman Community Farms in Lincoln. Spending the day on a working farm gave me a greater appreciation for the amount of planning, effort, and teamwork involved in producing food. It also reminded me how much of my own life is spent indoors and how easy it is to overlook the work that happens before food reaches a grocery store.

Another day, we visited local senior citizens through our town’s Council on Aging. We spent time talking, going for walks, and playing games together. Unlike the other service projects, this experience was built around conversation and relationships. Listening to people’s stories reminded me that sometimes the most meaningful way to serve is simply to spend time with someone.

Our final project was preparing meals for Bristol Lodge Soup Kitchen. Unlike our visit to the Council on Aging, we never met the people who would receive the meals. At first, that felt very different. As I thought about it later, I realized both experiences were equally important. Some forms of service happen face-to-face. Others happen quietly behind the scenes.

That became one of the biggest lessons of the week. Community organizations depend on many different kinds of contributions. Some people prepare meals. Others deliver them. Some organize volunteers, secure funding, manage programs, or coordinate schedules. Most of those people will never meet everyone they help, but their work makes every other part of the organization possible.

Outside the service projects, we also spent time discussing leadership, civic engagement, and personal values. One activity asked us to identify the values that matter most to us and consider how they influence our decisions. I kept coming back to dependability and perseverance. The conversation gave me an opportunity to think more carefully about how those values shape the way I approach leadership, school, and other activities.

One of our final activities was creating a personal service roadmap. As I worked through the exercise, I found myself thinking about my work through Teen Exec and my student leadership research. Both experiences have made me curious about how organizations support people, build partnerships, and create opportunities for others to contribute. Those questions feel just as important to me as the service itself.

I signed up expecting to learn more about serving my community. I finished the week with a much greater appreciation for the people, planning, and organizations that make service possible. Looking back, I think that’s one of the most valuable lessons I brought home.