Alumni F11

Personally I knew about the 20/20 leadership program before I transitioned into high school because my older sister, &&&&&& &&&&&, was also a participant in the program during her high school years. So, when I entered my junior year of high school I was very excited to apply for the program to hopefully gain some of the similar opportunities as I’ve heard from my sister. Prior to the program I believe it would be common for others to describe me as a leader based on my various extracurricular activities, which I have participated in all four years of my high school experience, but the program has greatly guided me with becoming a better leader. Specifically I am exceedingly grateful for the junior 20/20 Olympics event because it was an amazing moment for me to expand on my leadership skills. For that specific event I had the opportunity to be one of the three leaders from my school on our project, hygiene stations being placed in various bathrooms throughout our school building. My job was to help remind my peers about our deadlines for the project as well as help verify the progress of our project which I believe is why I was nominated by my peers and sponsors to be one of the speakers the day of our presentation. After the completion we were awarded the best presentation which became a great achievement for our school as well as for me personally. 20/20 Leadership has also allowed me to establish several connections with other students and adults that became very resourceful in helping me succeed in school while also pursuing my higher education and future career goals. Going into college I will take the knowledge I have learned from the 20/20 Leadership program to pursue my interest in student government on my future college campus, hopefully at Tennessee State University. Throughout my high school years and with the help of the program my passion for advocating for my peers and I to have an enjoyable academic experience has been established and it is something I would like to continue to pursue after graduating high school. I also believe that I will be a better educator because of the leadership skills I have gained from this program. I feel like it takes great leadership skills like making difficult decisions, listening to students’ concerns, being a support system during difficult times, as well as other abilities to be an impactful educator. Educators play an important role in society which I believe goes unnoticed a lot of the time which is another reason why I have an interest in pursuing a career in the education field, to conceivably change that reality. My dreams of becoming a teacher is a part of how I see myself leaving a legacy. I would like to influence future generations not only by educating them with knowledge but by pushing them to make their own impact on our society. Without the 20/20 Leadership program I would not be the leader I am today.