Final CAS Reflection

The last two years have flown by faster than I could have ever imagined they would. I still remember sitting in Mr. Lockwood’s classroom at the beginning of DP1, learning about the CAS blogs and how we would be using them to log all of our experiences over the DP program. Looking back at my blog, I can say with confidence that I’ve had a productive two years, and have been sufficiently creative, active, and done my share of service as well.

Some highlights from my CAS experiences over the last two years would be:

• My CAS project – Anya’s Kitchen
• Hope for Kids and OSC Ambassadors service groups
• Painting my brother’s and my bedrooms over lockdown
• Horse-riding and badminton lessons
• Skydiving!
• Teaching English
• Teaching my classmates how to cook

In order to evaluate my growth in CAS over the last two years, I took a last look at the CAS Learning Outcomes to see how I’ve developed in each area.

1. Identify your own strengths and develop areas for personal growth.
This year, creativity has been one of my strengths. From being creative during lockdowns, to singing at school concerts, to teaching my classmates how to cook, I’ve explored and understood my strengths these last two years. Of course, there is always room for improvement, and I think one way in which I have personally grown this year was through my CAS project. Anya’s Kitchen taught me to take a skill I already had to the next level and expand and learn more from it. I expanded my cooking skills into a business, and learnt so much more – truly one of my biggest achievements.

2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process.
During the DP program, I pushed myself to develop new skills, and to have new experiences. I joined horse-riding lessons, tried my hand at teaching and even jumped out of a plane! I definitely stepped out of my comfort zone multiple times, and each time was rewarding with new skills and fantastic memories and experiences to look back on.

3. Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience.
Planning CAS experiences was done not only during my CAS project, but even through service. At the end of 11th grade I planned a new ambassador orientation to train incoming ambassadors, and during my time with Hope for Kids I helped plan multiple collection drives and events. Then, of course, there was Anya’s Kitchen, which was quite a large project that I took on entirely by myself. Through planning these experiences I learnt about the importance of things like attention to detail, outreach when working with other people, and organization.

4. Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences.
This summer will mark my 6th year as a student ambassador. Since grade 7 at my previous school, I’ve been committed to helping make schools a welcoming place for all students. Being an expat myself, I’ve had to move schools multiple times and know firsthand what a challenge that can be. This is one of the things that made me so passionate about this group and cause. Another way I have shown commitment during the last two years was through my badminton lessons. Activity is one of the things I struggled with, especially because of the pandemic, but I was able to show perseverance and focus on improving my physical health.

5. Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively.
Working collaboratively was something that proved very useful to me during service. Working in the service groups, we were able to make a change in the lives of many people, and this is something that I wouldn’t have been able to do alone. Furthermore, I partnered with the Bharat Prakash Foundation during my CAS project to help provide access to education to children in India. Last week I worked with Ohana to teach my classmates how to cooK! All of these things showed me how much stronger you can be with the support of others.

6 & 7. Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance. Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions.
Mostly through service, these two learning outcomes were achieved. Through Hope for Kids I helped improve the lives of children with cancer, and through the Student Ambassadors I was able to make a the school environment warmer and welcoming. Furthermore, my passion to help improve access to education encouraged me to volunteer my time teaching English. Overall, all these activities taught me how important it is to serve others, and keep doing as much as you can for the good of the world. The world is much bigger than just yourself, and every person’s contribution makes it a better place.