TEAMWORK AND BIG GOALS!

A Record-Setting Student-Led Fundraiser

With a high bar set by students on the Telethon project in previous years, Cayden Chen and Clementine Suplee took on the responsibility of managing and promoting this year’s Telethon Fundraiser–an integral part of Delphian’s Annual Fund, which provides a critical source of support that enables the school to direct energy where it is most needed and to accomplish projects that would otherwise be impossible. Clementine and Cayden led the student body to raise a record-setting total of $80,297 for renovations to the school gym. 

Delphian Magazine: How did you think it would go when you first started this project?

Clementine: When I agreed to do the project, I only did so because it had to do with the gym, which is a space I really care about, and because it would also help me complete one of the project requirements on my program. But slowly, I began to care about it more and more and more.

Also, I consider myself a very individualistic person, so when I had to confront doing this project with Cayden, I thought it was going to be a disaster. But in reality, by the end, I learned to have a deep respect for him, and I was so glad we did the project together. His genius ideas and ability to make me laugh when we were working hard–I can’t imagine having done the project by myself or with anyone else. 

Cayden: At the beginning, I decided that we were going to be the best-ever student Telethon team. I don’t know that I really knew what that meant or even if I totally had Clementine’s agreement. But because of deciding this, we were able to play a game that set us on the path of achieving this goal on a project where there were so many barriers and challenges, each of them so immense and different. 

This decision really ended up being an anchor for the project. In all cases, I was able to think, what’s best for the school? What’s best for this project? And what’s the best effort from me? Have I given it? Because at the end of every conversation or piece of the project, I wanted to, at least, be able to say that I did my best. 

Clementine: It’s funny because I think Cayden decided that we were going to be the best at the beginning, but I don’t think I fully believed it until we were halfway through the last week of fundraising and I realized that we might actually do it. Not the best as in perfect, but the best team in the sense that together we raised a record-setting amount of donations from a record-setting number of individuals. 

DM: What sort of challenges did you have to work through and overcome on this project?

Cayden: I distinctly remember one instance very early on where we were calling someone and both of us got nervous, and we just didn’t actually let the call go through. We just hung up. But we had to get over that pretty quickly, and by the end of it we were calling and talking to so many people that being nervous about it wasn’t even a thing anymore.

Not only that, but it felt like we managed to get the whole community on board. Through communication, we were able to create a shared agreement and understanding that this project was going to be huge not only for us but for them too.

Clementine: I think Delphian really is good at giving you responsibility and giving you an opportunity to mess up and then helping you learn from your mistakes. This project was one of those opportunities for me. 

There was a night when we were meeting in the Development office during a time when I’d normally have free time, and it was pretty serious. Some things hadn’t been going right on the project, and we were discussing them. 

I realized then that this project was not just a project. It suddenly became something that was really and truly mine. It was not just a huge responsibility that I was expected to figure out but something that I really cared about and really wanted to succeed. 

DM: How has doing this project better prepared you for your future after Delphian? 

Cayden: I’ve thought about this question many, many times because this is exactly what I describe to people when I talk about this project, and I talk about this project a lot.

It’s really the ability to manage a project like this at this scale. I don’t know when else in my life I will have the opportunity to run a fundraiser where I get to convince two hundred teenagers to contact and convince a thousand different people to donate to a cause that I care about.

The skill of communication and the ability to create a shared understanding is a big thing. Because no matter what field you’re in, having the ability to communicate with people and helping them to understand why your idea is a good idea and then getting them to act on it is huge. 

For example, I plan to study an engineering major, not a business major, and it might seem at first glance that this project has almost nothing to do with engineering. But, as an engineer, if you are running a startup or inventing something new, you have to have this skill to pitch your ideas to investors and colleagues to be successful. 

The fact that this school gave me this opportunity is really special. This project was a one-of-a-kind experience; there is nothing else like it.

Clementine: For me, I think the most important thing was learning about the importance of teamwork. 

There were days when Cayden and I put in a lot of hours, planning, organizing, and calling donors, and I thought to myself, “This is hard work.” It made me confront what it might feel like to have a job. Even though it was hard and a lot of work, it was not that bad because we were working together as a team.

It feels really good to be able to say that I did it and to think about someday coming back years from now and being able to say I helped do this.