JCI UK

Our experiences at European Academy - part 2

Posted By admin |18 Sep 2019

Last month UK delegates had the opportunity to attend the JCI European Academy in Sweden. In part 2 of 2, it’s the turn of JCI Cambridge member Ben Goddard and JCI Manchester member Rachael Shah to share their experiences at EA in our latest blog.

How did you find your experience at European Academy?

European Academy was an incredibly well-organised event, with people from many different countries and great accommodation, food and activities, which gave the opportunity to learn in a very short space of time. The activities were challenging and engaging, requiring a lot of hard work to truly gain benefits from it. It lived up to its billing as a leadership academy and a once in a lifetime experience. It has given all attendees the tools and ideas to positively impact our societies locally, nationally and internationally. - Ben European Academy was incredible. Delegates from all over Europe came together to develop themselves as leaders of tomorrow. It highlighted to me all of the benefits of being a JCI Member:

development opportunities
meeting new people
travel
making a positive impact in society

Rachael

What will be the thing you most take away from the experience?

The personality profiling that was included as part of attending the academy provided a lot of insights about myself will be invaluable in helping me to understand my personal style, how I interact with others and how I make decisions. I also truly have a set of friends for life from the team that I worked together with. Through the challenges we faced, we all became much closer and really related to one another. We plan to meet once a year, with one of us hosting on each occasion (and as each of our team was from a different country, this will involve lots of new experiences!) - Ben All of the new leadership skills I learned that I can apply to my chamber and a new group of friends from across Europe. Recognising how powerful it is when you bring people together who all want to grow and develop. This mindset is what makes people want to get involved with JCI and its harnessing that when engaging members.- Rachael

How do you think attending European Academy will help you in your future JCI career?

I have a better understanding of my personal strengths and weaknesses and how I can develop these. By discussing this information with others, I am identifying any blind spots in how I perceive myself, which will help me to improve as a person. By better understanding myself and my place in the team, I can better further the goals and objectives of JCI UK. - Ben It's taught me the importance of communication and ensuring you understand people's communication styles. Its helped me reflect on my own strengths and weaknesses which I can put into practice when having difficult conversations. As well as meeting new contacts across JCI Europe to share ideas and projects with. - Rachael

Why should JCI UK members attend European Academy in the future?

European Academy is a superb way of getting to understand yourself better through the training and the insights reached, within a very supportive environment. - Ben To better understand what JCI is all about, to develop as future leaders and grow personally as a result and most of all to have fun! - Rachael