Army Corps of Engineers: History of the Dam

On Day 1 we visited the US Army Corps of Engineers and Visitors Center.

We got to listen to a park ranger explain to us the history of the land of which we are spending time on. We got to learn about the geological history which I found highly interesting and at times dry until I found out how it played into the current social issues of today. The park ranger was extremely fair in giving both sides of the situation.

She told us about the problems that the US Army Corps of Engineers encountered when trying to choose a location for the dam, and she explained how the Cochiti people got the short end of the stick when the dam was built. The most interesting thing was when the locations were being discussed for the dam, they had to choose between flooding people's homes and having them move completely or flooding a sacred religious place for Native Americans in the area. It made me want to go home and also research more about what other decisions the government has made as part of "eminent domain" or the right to land for government purposes.

Hearing the park ranger discuss the history of the dam and the people sparked a lot of questions in my mind on ethics of hard decisions:what do you choose? How does the government make decisions on that? What voices are included and what voices should be included?

- Addison, Group A

Leadership Games and Styles

Yesterday, October 4th, was our third day of the Odyssey Fall excursion to Pueblo de Cochiti in New Mexico. Despite having been here for so short a time, we have had many new experiences, and all of us have stepped out of our comfort zones and stepped further in to community.

Because we are such a large community, we have been divided into three separate groups so as to not overwhelm the people and places we visit. Groups A, B and C have different activities each day, morning and afternoon, but we all will have the opportunity to experience everything that has been so graciously made available to us.

For Group A, day three began, of course, with breakfast. All of our meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner, are provided by employees of the Cochiti school and community members, and we are incredibly grateful for them.

After breakfast, Group A stayed at the campground and engaged in a number of leadership games, lead by Randell, which showed us the value of teamwork, trust, communication and cooperation. Once the games had been played, we sat down for lunch. When we finished, Randell taught us about the different types of leadership styles. The other groups- B and C- have also had the opportunity to experience these games and conversations on other days.

We were given a large pile of colored strips of paper. Each strip had a word on it, and we were asked to choose three words that we thought best described ourselves. After everyone had chosen, we were shown a presentation on the different sides of the brain and told what our leadership color was, based on what color paper we had the most of. The colors were blue (the conceptualizers) yellow (the experiencers) green (the traditionalists) and red (the idealists). It was a very interesting exercise, and many students seemed to agree with their color and its defining traits. Hopefully, knowing these colors and leadership styles allow us to know more about ourselves and to respect and connect to others who may have different leadership styles.

The morning activities for Group A were engaging and enjoyable. As were the afternoon activities, which will be explained in another post.

- Cassidy McIntyre, Group A

Update from New Mexicio!

Hello friends and family of the Odyssey Leadership Academy program in New Mexico!

We are in touch with our instructors and they have reported the group is doing well and enjoying their time, but they have been unable to update the blog because the cell service is limited. Please feel free to call our with any questions or concerns (303) 679-3412. Thank you for your support and trust in the program!

All the best,

Maria Selde

Director of Programs

World Leadership School