Leadership used to be something that had to be foisted upon me. I was not naturally confident or self-assured, at least not when interacting with other people. This was, in part, because I didn’t know what I could bring to the table, or how I could lead. This was exactly what I learned in my Honors First Year Experience class. Using the StrengthsFinder test, I learned that I am strong strategist but poor at relationship building and creativeness. I am adept at building up others’ ideas but am not as skilled at coming up with my own.
Using what I learned about myself, I joined my floor’s Community Council (CC). First as the Events Coordinator Freshman year, and then President during my Sophomore year. Unfortunately, both years my fellow CC members were not particularly active. Thus, the onus was on me to plan events for the floor, facilitate communication between the floor and our Community Advisors and Area Directors. In this capacity I had to work a lot harder to overcome my weakness in creativity and relationship building, and I came to realize that even if I am not in my comfort zone, I can still be an effective leader.
When Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, I realized that I needed to do something to help. I reached out to the Chicano Latin-American Student Association to set up a means to raise awareness and funds to support the territory. I had previously worked almost entirely independently in my CC, but now I had to change my role in a new group setting. Unfortunately, I went from one extreme to another. I relied too much upon others and spread my plans too thin. Inevitably, people grew busy or had other commitments take precedence. Thus, I achieved less than I had hoped for. Multiple plans for fundraising and outreach turned into a single event. As disappointing as this was, I did learn something. Leadership, like most things, is best when cushioned in the middle between extremes, not too autocratic nor abdicratic.
I strongly believe that the cornerstone of good leadership is bringing up those around you to a higher level. This was reinforced when I joined the Zoology club. Initially just a member I watched as our President showed up with lectures finished only hours earlier that added little to our discussions or club goals. Once given the opportunity, I thrust my way into a leadership role; initially as the Club Secretary and then as Vice-President. In these roles I made sure to create events that created an atmosphere where our members could discuss topics of interest and grow as scientists. Leadership can take on many different shapes from a local and boisterous leader to one that prefers to work behind the scene. Regardless of their leadership style, a leader’s main goal is to raise those around them and help them achieve their goals by growing into them.
Using what I learned about myself, I joined my floor’s Community Council (CC). First as the Events Coordinator Freshman year, and then President during my Sophomore year. Unfortunately, both years my fellow CC members were not particularly active. Thus, the onus was on me to plan events for the floor, facilitate communication between the floor and our Community Advisors and Area Directors. In this capacity I had to work a lot harder to overcome my weakness in creativity and relationship building, and I came to realize that even if I am not in my comfort zone, I can still be an effective leader.
When Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, I realized that I needed to do something to help. I reached out to the Chicano Latin-American Student Association to set up a means to raise awareness and funds to support the territory. I had previously worked almost entirely independently in my CC, but now I had to change my role in a new group setting. Unfortunately, I went from one extreme to another. I relied too much upon others and spread my plans too thin. Inevitably, people grew busy or had other commitments take precedence. Thus, I achieved less than I had hoped for. Multiple plans for fundraising and outreach turned into a single event. As disappointing as this was, I did learn something. Leadership, like most things, is best when cushioned in the middle between extremes, not too autocratic nor abdicratic.
I strongly believe that the cornerstone of good leadership is bringing up those around you to a higher level. This was reinforced when I joined the Zoology club. Initially just a member I watched as our President showed up with lectures finished only hours earlier that added little to our discussions or club goals. Once given the opportunity, I thrust my way into a leadership role; initially as the Club Secretary and then as Vice-President. In these roles I made sure to create events that created an atmosphere where our members could discuss topics of interest and grow as scientists. Leadership can take on many different shapes from a local and boisterous leader to one that prefers to work behind the scene. Regardless of their leadership style, a leader’s main goal is to raise those around them and help them achieve their goals by growing into them.