Dinner With Our Alumni: rrretsuko

Hello all! It’s been a while but I am excited to announce a new mid-week dinner! For those that don't know, Dinner With Our Alumni is a series of small interviews that I conduct with 7 Cups Academy alumni to know more about their journey in the program - this post is dedicated to the Leadership Development Program! The aim is to spread more awareness about the program and hope everyone gives it a read!

Today, we have @rrretsuko! Often goes by Suko, they're a listener on 7 Cups and absolutely loves supporting others. They also love animals! Guess their favorite? Bunnies! Apart from that, Suko loves writing as well and is a proud vegan (music to Toast ears)!

What was on dinner? Soup, sushi, and donuts! (Full package and all vegan :'))

So here's Suko for you all:

What made you join the LDP program?

I joined the LDP program in order to improve my leadership skills/qualities and to be more involved with the community ❤️ I really think this site has so much to offer for people reaching out for support as well as people who would love to help others by giving them that support 😊 So, it is important to try and better your skills in whatever way you can. Enrolling into the program was a great opportunity for that!

How was your experience doing the coursework?

The coursework wasn’t too difficult! I really enjoyed participating in the forum discussions and they actually taught me a lot about what my strengths are and things I could work on as far as leadership and personality goes 😊

Did you find it easy to navigate through the forums for each course?

Yes, it was very easy! ❤️ I do like how there are subcategories for each course that lays out each discussion number in front of you 😊 so you can just do them in order very easily!

How did you dedicate your time to doing the coursework?

I made sure to prioritize things like school and volunteering first, of course haha. Then, I’d spend a few hours every two/three days or so just focusing on completing coursework ❤️

Which course did you like the most? And why?

I really liked course 2 in the program! I strongly believe that a big (yet very essential) obstacle listeners must overcome is not wanting to accept feedback/constructive criticism ❤️ in course 2, the discussions teach you the importance of accepting feedback, providing feedback, and putting feedback to use as a listener. We all have things we can improve on and the one thing that makes a great leader is their willingness to accept feedback and act upon it 😊

What role did you get into after the program? How are you liking the role you got into for the LDP?

I was already a chatroom moderator for the eating disorder support and newbie hub chatrooms! ❤️ However, I am definitely still enjoying my roles and I get to meet some amazing people because of them 😊 I love making sure the chatrooms are safe, supportive, respectful, and welcoming for everyone.

If you had to give one tip to the current trainees, what would that be?

Take your time doing the discussions– there’s no need to rush through them as long as you manage your time wisely! There’s a lot you can learn from the program and taking in all of that information can really benefit you and improve your skills 😊 Don’t just complete the program to receive the badge – do it for yourself and the people you want to support ❤️

What can we do to make the program better?

I honestly think that the program is great as is! I’m really happy I could do the training for it!

Thank you for reading till here! I would love to hear any suggestions/question ideas that I can add to this series. If you are an LDP graduate and would love to contribute, please PM me so we can set up our dinner! Meanwhile, please give a big shout-out to @rrretsuko for doing this, you're amazing!

This post is brought to you by the Leadership Development Program Team, find out more information about the program here.