Senior 31

To me, leadership is about how one can lift others up and toward success. This can be displayed in a multitude of different ways, such as communication, responsibility, and my favorite problem-solving. As cliche as it may sound, communication and problem-solving go hand in hand, it is these skills that can be the difference between a group crumbling or flourishing. This is something that I have had to learn through my activities, it’s something that takes time to implement and become a habit even with as easy as it seems. I can say that it is something I have not perfected but a skill I have worked to refine and have seen the positive repercussions of. Leadership is a skill I’ve worked towards throughout my academic career as well as within my community, as a result, I have seen the benefits it provides to myself and the community around me.
Within my school, I have displayed leadership by founding our very first student government in KCKPS. With this, I strived to be a point of communication between students and the school district making sure that students have a voice in decision making. My role as secretary involves being proactive in addressing student concerns, communicating information in a digestible manner, and providing feedback on new business. With this activity, I have been able to work 1-on-1 with the school district to provide an internal point of view on growing concerns about fentanyl usage. My involvement allowed me to create a campaign educating others on fentanyl and how to appropriately administer the life-saving drug Narcan. Alongside this campaign, I’m working directly with KCKPS PD to show the importance of building relationships with the local police force. Through this, I’ve seen how community-driven policing has built numerous relationships between the police force and my peers.
Within my community, I’ve been able to demonstrate leadership through a variety of programs I’ve worked on. In the past, I’ve worked with global diplomats to overcome prevalent issues within Kansas City and promote citizen diplomacy. I’ve also recently worked with Bank of America as a Student leader to promote volunteerism to today’s youth. Within this program, I worked directly with the Youth Volunteer Corps to engage youth in team-based volunteer work to build skills such as compassion, selflessness, and respect for others. However, my favorite leadership experience has been working with Startland EDU to find a solution to the growing number of migrant farm children who come to the U.S. without adequate educational support. Within this program, I spoke with the migrant service department for the KCK public school district and several migrant workers themselves to see what was needed from our communities. We then designed a solution to our issue and pitched it to various investors.
My leadership experiences have pushed me to pursue a career in public policy as I strive to create a community that communicates between the public and policymakers. With a career in public policy, I aim to direct myself and others to lead with integrity and accountability.