201212_UTMinuteman_W.. - Keep Trees

20 Winter 2012
“Garn does a great job of explaining how,
‘Guess what, I grew up in Richfi eld, and here
I am an astronaut, a general, a senator.’ With
all of the things he’s accomplished in his life,
it really shows them the sky is the limit, or
in his case space is the limit. It opens their
eyes to fact that, ‘You know what? I can do
anything. The world is my oyster.’ That is so
important because so many times people are
stopped in their progress because they lack
the vision of what they can accomplish,” said
Badell.
Freedom Academy is not a regimen of
all talk and no action. The training schedule
brimmed over with interactive, handson
training and action-packed adventure.
Not only did delegates walk a mile in a
Guardmember’s shoes by learning how to
march, by participating in fl ag ceremonies
and by consuming Meals Ready to Eat while
in the fi eld. They also climbed a mile in a
Guardmember’s obstacle course.
All delegates completed a Leadership
Reaction Course, an obstacle course
impossible to complete without working
together in small groups, communicating, and
using critical thinking skills to overcome the
obstacle. For instance, a group of delegates
on one ledge had to fi gure out how to reach
the ledge on the other side by using a rope
and three too-small-to-reach boards to walk
across. At each new obstacle, a new delegate
was required to lead so that each would get
a chance to experience both leadership and
followership.
“The most valuable lesson I learned
here is how to lead,” said Cameron C., a
delegate from Copper Hills High School in
West Jordan. “Also, how to step back and let
someone else lead, yet still be a valuable part
of the team.”
A delegate from Cedar High in Cedar
City, Ashlee A., stated she was “volun-told”
to sing the National Anthem during the fl agraising
ceremony each morning. Though she
likes to sing, she said, she never sang in front
of a large group of her peers before.
Ashlee summed up her experience at
Freedom Academy by stating, “This whole
week has really pushed me outside my comfort
zone and got me out of my shell. I think that’s
something that will help me throughout my
whole life. It’s been really great.”