By Omolola Precious
Change Agent Cohort 6, YMCA Nigeria
This is the first in a series of articles from Omolola sharing the experience of being a World YMCA Change Agent and the knowledge and perspective learned along the way
On the 18th of April 2025, I received the official email from Maricris – the Programme Manager at the World YMCA in charge of the Change Agents Programme – confirming I had been selected as a World YMCA Change Agent.
Interestingly, before that email even landed in my inbox, congratulations were already rolling in on my YMCA digital platform. So yes, the joy had already started bubbling 😅
I was elated and I told everybody!
“Mummy, do you know I’m one of the Change Agents now?”
Somehow, it has been 10 months of training, online sessions, assignments, learning, unlearning, and growing into what I now confidently call a world-class change agent, both within and beyond the Y. And I want to share this phase of becoming with you.
One of the most unexpected outcomes of the Change Agent training was that it pushed me to make my very first LinkedIn post and intentionally put myself out there. This happened through the Communication for Change module on our learning platform.
Let me tell you about it.
My first impression of the module was that it was a lot to digest but honestly, I had no idea the Good Design and fundraising module will stretch me later 😂. I’ll be sharing more about those in subsequent articles.
Before the Change Agent training, I didn’t see communication and presentation as essential prerequisites for change. Of course, I could communicate. But did I do it with intention? Did I understand my audience? Was I clear?
These were questions I had never paused to ask myself.
Asking them changed everything.
I learned that great communication doesn’t end when the talking stops. Do you reflect afterwards? Do you ask for feedback? Do you assess the impact on your audience?
There are so many elements involved in sharpening communication skills, and I’m grateful that this module reshaped how I see and practice communication today.
This series is about growth, learning, and passing on the impact the YMCA has had on me from attending camps at a very young age to being part of a global Movement intentionally creating the next generation of values-driven leaders.
In the next article, I will reflect on YMCA Vision 2030. How I started thinking about the YMCA that I envision and how I make it a reality.