By Omolola Precious
Change Agent Cohort 6, YMCA Nigeria
This is the sixth and final in a series of articles by Precious, sharing the experience of being a World YMCA Change Agent and the knowledge and perspectives gained along the way; read the fifth article here.
This series was never meant to be a curriculum recap but a reflection on growth, purpose, and what it means to build a better world with intention through the Change Agent programme.
This programme did not just teach skills but also changed the way I see impact. Before, I used to think impact work was lighter. Important? Yes, but perhaps simpler than it actually is. But building a better world is serious work that requires strategy, patience, collaboration, courage, and the willingness to ask difficult questions about systems and power.
And when you look at the world today, with the conflicts across nations, communities facing injustice, and young people struggling to find their place, you realize that change cannot be passive.
Someone has to imagine a different world.
Someone has to start building it.
The programme didn’t just teach us to dream about change, it taught us to design it intentionally.
From learning to action
We are now at the implementation stage of the training. For some, that means launching a project. For others, it’s stepping into internships or new opportunities to apply what we have learned.
For me, it is both. I recently began an internship with the World YMCA that allows me to grow within the communications space: telling stories, shaping narratives, and amplifying the voices of people working for impact. And then there is MindMate, a school-based mental health campaign designed to create safer conversations around mental health among students.
This one year has taught me that learning only matters when it becomes action. The real work starts now, after the modules, and we are equipped for it.
Thank you
To the facilitators, mentors, and Maricris who guided this journey, thank you for believing that young people deserve not just inspiration, but tools, and for giving us that.
To everyone who followed this series from Article 1 to Article 6, thank you for reading, commenting, sharing, and reflecting alongside me. Summarizing a year-long transformation into six pieces felt almost impossible, and your support made it worthwhile.
To Bonnie and my family, thank you for the push and the support that made all the difference.
My challenge to you
If you are part of a national YMCA Movement somewhere in the world, or if you have been following this series quietly from a distance: Apply for the next cohort. Come curious, come open, come ready to unlearn, learn, relearn, and work!
This is one of those rare experiences that shifts how you think about leadership, community, and yourself. When the lessons challenge you, because they will, lean into it because that is where growth happens.
Lastly, the world does not need more spectators but more young people thinking about change, designing change, and implementing change. Or you could watch and complain, but I hope not!
Thank you for riding with me. I am excited for what is next.