Molly Warndorf

The BeeHLP Team

Bees are masters of mass teamwork. Every hive, some of over 60,000 insects, have
perfected the art of organization and effective leadership. A hive thrives on clear
communication, explicit team roles, and impressive arrays of servant leadership. Surely, if
insects can master teamwork and leadership, then four college sophomores should. But, bees
do not need to make time for office hours, or study for two exams in one week, or balance
homework, and mental health, and a social life. There are so many moving parts to a team, and
working with Julia, Jake, and Zach had allowed me to dig into the inner workings.
I never liked group projects. They were symbolic of distrust and stress. I recall working,
alone, for hours on projects only to painstakingly add names of those who did not contribute to
the top. But, this project was a refreshing exception. I learned that is it okay to rely on team
members, and that every person can meaningfully contribute when given the room to. In this
increasingly “sink or swim” world, I think we are all too often taught to fend for ourselves. Team
members come in with the notion that if things start to go south, they just need to finish the
task even if it means taking on all of the work. If our team followed this path, we would not
have been successful. This year, I made the decision to place trust in my team members. We
are a very open team and found it easy to talk about concerns. We were open about the weight
each person was contributing, and the weight we were able to take on. I can safely say this was
one of my most positive team experiences because we were practical about dividing up team
roles and assignments.
The team and I always found it very helpful to center ourselves around the idea of
working for a non-profit. When we got off track, we frequently came back to the phrase “We
are working with a real non-profit. It is legit. What we do right now, could really change this
organization. “ All of the research, writing, and Sunday meetings at Panera could cause some
“bee”autiful change in the world. This notion held us accountable to the project. We became
empowered by the bees, allowing us to embrace this unique venture.
Initially, I was not in charge of researching material on bees for the project. Julia and I
were to develop the layout of the curricula, and Jake and Zach were to fill in the rest with the
beekeeping information. But, as Google would foretell, not a lot goes into a curriculum plan for
a single class. I then proposed the idea of writing class and teacher manuals. I was worried we
would not have much to present Fair Weather Farm if we stuck with the initial plan, but if we
gave them four manuals for two classes, they would be able to hold some effective classes.
Over winter session, I had a lot of time on my hands and made the most of it. I flew into the
world of beekeeping and started writing material for the manuals. This quickly became a
daunting undertaking, and the manuals showed it. Riddled with typos and incomplete
sentences, the manuals were unprofessional and were sure to be an embarrassment. They did
not even mention anything on how to teach the course. I had to rely greatly on the team at this
point. Jake, Julia, and Zach were able to combine their strengths to overcome my weaknesses.
Together, we made some wonderful manuals.
Tier 2 allowed me to more willingly trust my team members. Without Julia, Jake, and
Zach this experience would have been very different. They taught me the importance of staying
open about concerns, following through on projects, and holding one another accountable.