Landmark Education and Landmark Forum Graduates
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www.iLovePossibility.info
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Last updated:
Asia
2008 |
The power of Self-Expression
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Melissa Semcer
The Landmark Self Expression and Leadership Program
left me with an awesome skill to develop my capacity for leadership - particularly in my ability to communicate in a way that inspires and calls
forth the alignment, cooperation and partnership of others. In SELP, I
took on a truly impossible dream and made it a reality. My community project was to form a team of riders
from the triangle area in North Carolina, and ride in the 2002 European AIDS Vaccine
Ride, a 550-mile ride from Amsterdam to Paris. For a bit of
background, I did not own a bike, hadn't ridden one in years, had never
raised funds of more than $50 dollars (the minimum for this ride was $5000 per
rider) and had no money to get to Europe - well you get the idea. It was while training for this ride that I truly learned the power of self-expression. My teammate and I linked up with Team Alliance; the Raleigh based team of riders who participate every year in the Washington DC AIDS Ride. We trained with them for three months. By the time they were leaving for their ride two weeks before my European ride, we were like family. The Sunday night before the Wednesday that they
were all leaving they had a going away party. I went to wish them
well, but an amazing thing happened that changed my whole outlook on life.
As the party was winding down, a member of Team Alliance announced that he
wanted me to ride with them in the DC ride. He saw me as a member of their
team and the ride wouldn't be the same without me. Amazingly enough,
everyone else agreed! I quickly mentioned that there was a huge fund-raising problem as in order to ride I needed $2400 dollars and I had nothing. Furthermore, I had no more resources as I was working so hard to raise the minimum $5000 for the European Ride. They all agreed to raise the necessary money in three days so that I could ride with them. That about knocked me off of my feet and believe
it or not, they raised the majority of the money and held up a sign at
registration for the event to get the rest. I could not believe that
this group of people would be willing to do all this as a community so
that I could be part of their team. I will never again doubt what
people can do once they are fully self-expressed. So I had my incredible ride to Washington DC with
them. Two weeks later through the coaching of Jonn Thomas, my SELP
Leader, and the support of my fantastic SELP
group, I achieved
my goal. On June 29th, 2002 I got on my bike in Amsterdam, along
with my teammate, and we rode raising over $12,000 for AIDS Vaccine
Research. It was an unforgettable trip and in so doing I created a victory
over who I had been in my past.
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I love to read, ride my bike, and spend hours in coffee shops with friends. My future plans include hopefully serving as a Peace Corps volunteer (I'm in the process and have received my nomination) and eventually heading to graduate school in International Law and Diplomacy.
Who I am is the possibility of power, adventure, and fulfillment. What I am committed to is a world where individuals respect cultural differences and challenge themselves to the greatest of their abilities and play full out in life.
Access
to Possibility
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October 21, 2002
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