1. Reflection#6
A time whenIworkedtolimita riskfacingSAAY,waslast quarterinFall 2015. The risk was
reputational andhadto dowiththe inclusivityof SAAY.Once we beganpublicizingourselvesandgotthe
SAAY“out there,”manypeople began questioningif theyqualifyasbeingSlavicorwhoexactlyis
allowedintoourorganization.We receivedmanyquestionsonourFacebookPage.YuliyandI worked to
replytothese comments,sayingthatyoudo nothave to be Slavicin orderto joinourorganization.As
longas you have an interestinthe Slaviccommunityoradesire toconnectwithotherSlavic’s,thenyou
are welcome! 
SAAYalsoreceivedquestionsaboutwhicheventsnon-memberswere able ornot able toattend.
There isone main eventthatwe holdforonlyour members--Initiation.However,forthe mostpart,all
of oureventsare gearedtowardSAAYmembersaswell asthe general Davispopulation(notjust
Slavics).SAAYadvertisesthroughFacebookandwe tryto invite asmanynon-membersaspossible.Itis
throughour eventsthatnon-memberscanactuallygeta feel forourorganizationandare able todecide
if theywant toget more involvedinitornot.
Yet,SAAY hasnot alwaysbeenable tomitigate risk.Before the Fall of 2015, the first-everSAAY
Executive Boardspentthe summerplanningforSAAY,eating,andhavingfuntogether.Yuliy,ourco-
President,gotthe ideaof goingona kayakingtripto Lake Natoma,in orderto have some goodbonding
time withthe Executive Board.Yuliywantedthe whole eventtobe a surprise forus,so he didnot tell us
whatthe “baseball bat”wasfor whenwe askedhim.
Before kayaking,Iwasthe onlyone that puton a life jacketbecause Ididnotknow how to
swim.We had twokayaksand had a peaceful time maneuveringunderabridge andobservingducksand
mini turtles.Until,Yuliybroughtustoan abandonedpartof the lake withatall red woodtree.Now,we
knewwhatthe bat was for—swing-roping!He climbedthe tree andtiedthe rope andbat accordingly.
The E-board tookturns swing-ropingintothe lake anditwasfun! Until…one time I letgo of the bat too
quicklywhenjumpingoff,consequentlylandinginashallow partof the lake.The result—aswollenknee
and ankle onmy leftleg,alongwiththe inabilitytoputpressure onit.
That endedourkayakingtrip...The Boardhelpedme backontothe kayakas we headedbackto
our van.Liliya,ourpresident,lookedupthe nearestmedical clinic,since she knew thatitwouldbe
cheaperthana visittothe hospital.We came to the clinicand I wastreated.Afteramonth,I thank God
that I washealedandable to walkagain!
In the future,perhapsnothaving“surprises,”butbeingtransparentaboutwhatexactlywilltake
place duringour outingswouldhelpmanage the risksassociatedwithit.Thiswillallow forfurther
questioningandcriticismfromthe participantstoallow forthe revisingof plans,leadingtoactivities
withsmallerrisks.