GenConnect is a program that aims to help older Australians access the online world. Once a week, we (All Saints’ students) go to the 5/6 building where we teach residents from Raafa and Amana Living how to use their devices. I have been in this program since year 8 and being a GenConnect member has taught me so much about teamwork and leadership.

I have learnt leadership through this program as it requires you to be proactive. We had either one or two students working with residents, meaning I had to actively take leadership during these sessions, in finding things to teach, answering questions and showing residents what to do. This has helped me to become more confident in taking initiative and taught me how to not just take the back seat. 

Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic however, we are unable to continue to meet face to face with residents. Instead we have been working on an adapted version of the program, where we create different teaching resources to give to residents. This has shown me different perspectives on teamwork and leadership.

This is different from a lot of other projects I have done in the past, as it is a lot more free-form. With leadership from our service captain, we planned this project ourselves, as opposed to a teacher asking us to complete set tasks. Because of this, I have improved my leadership skills. At the start of the project, I was scared to put forward ideas, however I became more confident making suggestions as the planning went on.

We ended up splitting the project into many smaller parts, I am part of a group creating guides for tablets and phones. Within these groups, we also split into smaller groups sourcing photos and diagrams, writing instructions, and making a glossary. I am part of the photos group and have learnt teamwork as I had to communicate with my partner over what needed to be done. We had to divide up roles and make sure we were on the same wavelength. I also had to work with the other groups to link our information and stay on track, such as making sure we found the right photos for different parts of the glossary. This isn’t a process we could have done individually.

I would like to thank Mr Corbett and the staff at Amana/Raafa for helping to make this amazing opportunity possible. I would also like to thank Ms Von Deitze and our service captain, Rahul, for providing amazing guidance and leadership during these sessions.