City Spotlights Staff Blog | Week 3 | Laniya Galloway

Being in a Junior Assistant position has been a challenging yet fulfilling task. I have transitioned from being a Teen Leader to a support and rule enforcer, which can be tricky when some of the teens are old friends or close in age. I am consistently working on being authoritative yet friendly, as I learn their personalities and connect with them on a mentor level.

Flashmob has been the most sentimental part of the program for me. Watching the teens learn a new dance in less than a week, and confidently perform it in Boston is incredible; especially since some teens have never danced before, or are trying a new style. A great example of this is one teen who missed learning the choreography due to being absent for a few days. Despite this, she came back and learned the entire flashmob routine the day before our performance in Boston. I truly admire her preparedness and eagerness to learn; she even taught herself half the dance at home. On Tuesday, I worked one-on-one with her in the lobby on helping her feel more confident in different parts.

Overall, I am most proud of the Teen Leaders' participation during flashmob. Every Teen Leader danced in at least one flashmob, and many participated in all of the dance performances.