On September 10th, ETA Sophia Lopresti boarded a bus to Padang Pariaman. The student organization at her high school prepared a field trip for 53 students from grades 10 and 11 to visit INS Kayutanam, a well-known leadership program site. Over the next three days, the students participated in a variety of ice breaking, team building, and group bonding activities, including an outdoor obstacle course. Sophia accompanied them for the first two days. The most memorable moment for her was part of the opening ceremony. It was about 9 pm and the students had a long day, but that didn’t dampen their attitudes! Bapak Hendrizal, from SMA INS Kayutanam, was motivating the students to be leaders at our school. He asked each student to stand in front of the group and recite the following quote:

“A leader! What is a leader?
A leader is one who knows the way, shows the way, goes the way.
What is the problem today?
To lead or be led!”

At first, the students were shy and simply repeating the words. Then one student came forward and started with a stronger voice than anyone was expecting- she demanded attention for her message and stated it with enthusiasm! The rest of the students who presented that evening followed suit. It was really inspiring to Sophia to watch these students build their leadership confidence by speaking English.

Sophia Lopresti is currently teaching at SMAN 11 Padang, West Sumatra