I really enjoyed participating in the Earthquake exercise. I felt prepared going into it because of my experience as a boy scout. Several times a year, we would be put into scenarios involving disasters and peoples lives in danger. Some were people falling through ice, avalanches, collapsed mines, and cliff rescues. The only difference was in boy scouts, we had to actually perform the tasks. We had to evaluate the environment, decide the best approach for helping the victims without endangering all of our lives. Communication was always the most important. Someone would have to step up as the leader. People would voice their ideas. The self-appointed leader would then delegate responsibilities. Even though we were never told how to handle a mine collapse or avalanche victims specifically, we would use what knowledge we had and adapt it to the situation.

I remember one of my early years in scouting, we were attempting a cliff rescue except in our simulation we were on a very steep hill (some times it actually was on a cliff and we had to use climbing gear). The victim was a younger, hyper active scout at the bottom of the cliff with many injuries. We loaded up our sled(a large dog sled) with first aid gear and lowered it down the hill on a long rope along with two scouts to perform the first aid. After getting the major injuries taken care of and the victim loaded into the sled, we began pulling him up the rocky hill. About two thirds of the way up, the sled got caught on a large rock, and the rope broke. The young scout inside began to panic. We did our best to keep him calm and still knowing that if he moved too much the sled would slide backwards down the hill and he would quickly become a real victim. A senior scout immediately grabbed our end of the rope, we lowered him down, he tied it back onto the sled and we pulled them both to safety.

In Earthquake, our group had a leader naturally begin to take charge and decide how things would be run. While others involved may have felt less important, much like the scouts pulling on the rope rather than performing the first aid, their input and assistance was very much needed. Not one of us had all the answers, but with everyone's input, we were able to survive.

On campus this type of leadership is important. Whether it's in a lab or a club, nobody can do everything themself. It's important to step up as a leader and deligate. Organization can make tasks much more efficient and enjoyable.