Alumni Essay 3

The 20/20 Leadership program has helped me develop my skills while I learned about the true essence and meaning of leadership. Before I entered the program, I saw leadership as taking charge and being the final say in the decision-making process. I soon discovered that strong leadership requires communication skills, responsible behavior, and the ability to understand others, which I was able to learn from workshops and community activities through this program. The process has worked as my most significant experience because it has helped me develop as a leader. My main area of growth during this time period required me to construct better confidence when I needed to speak up. The program motivated me to demonstrate my own views and make my contributions during group discussions, which would lead to an effective Olympics Project. Through this event, I learned that leadership requires people to take charge instead of making perfect decisions, which enables others to share their opinions. The approach helped me gain confidence to share my opinions during high-pressure circumstances. 

The experience taught me that active listening is essential when I need to collaborate with individuals from various cultural backgrounds. Leadership requires people to establish a work environment that allows their team members to express themselves freely while providing equal treatment to all. The 20/20 leadership program taught me two essential skills, which include understanding the need to speak up and listening to people in my immediate environment. My personality development has increased my capacity to wait with little need for things, while I can now better understand how my actions impact others. My teamwork approach has been shaped through these lessons, which drive me to lead with caring instead of using authority. Empathy serves as my fundamental principle for community development, so I will continue to expand my understanding of it.

To me, leaving a legacy means impacting others in a way that lasts beyond the moment. According to Merriam-Webster, a legacy is “something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor.” This perfectly reflects the values my wrestling coach passed on to me. Right before my state match, my coach looked at me and asked, “How do you want to be remembered? How do you want to leave a legacy?” That moment stuck with me. The next thing I knew, I was walking off the mat as a state champion—leaving just the start of my legacy. So today, I will leave you with one question: What will be your legacy?I realized in that moment that legacy is not built in a single victory but it requires daily demonstration of discipline and resilience and character development. The way we behave when others do not see us and the way we maintain our highest standards define our character. The state championship represented an important accomplishment but my actual legacy exists through my ongoing commitment to my team and school and personal values. Our actual identity will emerge through the influences we create on others which will endure beyond the time when our medals lose their value.