The Power of Teamwork
Janhvi Vyas
2nd Year MPH Health Behavior Health Education Student
As I ponder upon the experiences and insights that I gained as a result of the evaluation project with the South Central AHEC in San Antonio, Texas, I’ve come to realize the significance of effective collaboration and the powerful impact it has on creating an empowering transformative outcome. My team members and I cultivated an environment for us to efficiently accomplish a significant number of tasks.
During our time in Texas, we faced many challenges that led us to build our connectivity further. Of the various difficulties we embraced, some of the most arduous tasks involved spending hours formatting slides, trying to coordinate matching outfits for our presentation, and solving one of society's biggest dilemmas: collectively deciding on a restaurant. We, truly, capitalized on our shared strengths to address these pressing matters.
All jokes aside, my team members (who I can, now, call my friends), and I fostered an environment where everyone contributed to the best of their ability. I like to give us a round of applause for collectively placing an equal effort on all tasks assigned to us, keeping the line of communication open, and trusting each other to put their best foot forward. Although some may consider my viewpoint to be biased (and it very well is!), I’d argue that the experience that I gained from this opportunity has left me with an elevated sense of gratitude.
Each of us comes from a diverse educational background which allows us to leverage varied skills. We embraced each other’s experience and diversity in knowledge to deliver a comprehensive evaluation for our partner. From the beginning of the project, we ensured our workflow was effectively delegated via clear roles and responsibilities. This allowed us to harness our individual strengths and played a vital role in our success. Throughout this whole process, we promoted a culture of mutual respect and support. We began this journey with the mindset of collaboration, and we continued to nurture that environment. There was genuine camaraderie among my team members which carried forward as high-quality deliverables for our partner.
As I move forward in my academic career, the positive lessons learned from this experience will continue to guide me, signifying the importance of effective teamwork and the lessons that come along with it.