“I alone cannot change the world, 
but I can cast a stone across the waters
to create many ripples.”
~Mother Teresa

Do you want to change the world?

I do.  While I was still writing Sounding the Drum, I expressed this to a friend, wondering how I could have an impact with my book.  He said, “It could create a ripple and that ripple could spread.”  

I published the book in February of 2017.  The book did not create a ripple.  Perhaps I had to do more than simply publish the book.

So I began to give presentations about community building in local libraries.  I did not create a ripple either.

In the fall of 2018, I enrolled at Crandall University to get my Masters of Organizational Management degree.  This program helped to shape my passion for community building into a business.  Now I knew exactly what to do.

I took on three Research & Development projects to build my brand.  (See the Feedback here.)  One thing led to another.  In November of 2019, I was invited to be a guest presenter at a Health Community class at the University of Moncton as part of their Masters in Healthcare program.

Stones cast.

Two months later I met with their professor for coffee.  She told me that at the end of the semester when her students supplied their course feedback many talked about my presentation.

They said:

“I felt a shift in the classroom.  We went from colleagues to friends during the session with Lori”

“I felt comfortable sharing intimate details about my life with my classmates for the first time since the semester started” 

“It made me realize we all struggle with the same insecurities and fears.  The session with Lori gave us the rare opportunity to share them in the class setting”

“The session with Lori helped me see my classmates as allies instead of competitors”

“I enjoyed the community building exercises.  They threw me off in the beginning; but then when I saw my classmates open up, I felt comfortable to do the same.  Some people even cried, and everyone gathered around that person to provide support.  It changed our group dynamic”

“Community building should be part of every class at the University”

“I will bring community building to the workplace when I am a healthcare manager”

Ripples!

The professor wrote in her testimonial;

“My students loved her presentation and the exercises she proposed to our class.  I noticed a difference in the interactions between students almost instantaneously.  They were closer, provided more support and encouragement to each other in the classroom.  The change lasted until the end of the semester.”  

Do you want to build community in your classroom?  Talk to me.

Photo by Jackson Hendry on Unsplash