Senior 17

The most important leadership role I have held in high school is being the student body president this year. I decided to join the student council during my junior year. At the end of that year, I decided to run for president. I won my class’ vote and in my senior year, 2022-2023, I became the student body president. The most important things I have learned from being president are how to communicate, how to be a leader and not a boss, how to work and rely on others, and most importantly, being able to use your leadership to help others and give back to your community. All of these things have pushed me to want to further my education. Knowing how to communicate has taught me how to talk to others and ask for help. By knowing I can ask for help and not being afraid to talk to others, I am able to reach out to people who can help me. Communicating showed me that asking questions and asking for help does not make you less of a leader, because the person that asks for help will move over the bump a lot faster than the person that does not. By asking for help and using the communication skills I have learned, I have been able to get into the college I want to go to and I have gotten really close with the college counselor at my school who has helped me seek out a lot of scholarship opportunities. By using my communication skills I have learned by being a leader, it has given me more opportunities for college and has also inspired me to want to go to college in the first place.

I have also learned what it means to be a leader and not a boss. When you are a leader, you work with others by your side, not in front or over people. This is important to me because I believe a boss will not accomplish as much as a true leader. Through joining the student council, I have met a lot of new people, including a lot of different types of leaders. I have observed those leaders who boss people around compared to the ones who lead and work next to their companions. The ones that boss people around do not get the respect from the people they are working with. Most of the time, by the end of the project, other people stop working with them or do not want to work with them again. On the other hand, there are leaders that work side by side with the people they are working with. I see them get a lot of respect and people love working with them because they are not treated like a worker, they are treated like a teammate, and I believe that is what is most important. This has inspired me to further my education by showing me the people I want to work with and showing me the type of field I want to go into.