Senior 21

Leadership can have many different meanings to everyone around the world. I’ve seen various times in my life where I’ve been a leader without realizing it. From the simplest of things; being a line leader in elementary school, to now leading an entire club for my high school, leading in my job, and leading in my household. For me, leadership has come naturally whether I wanted it to or not.  Leadership, to me,  means having a strong sense of self to be able to lead others and being able to trust in my abilities that I’m doing the right thing.  To be able to have empathy, integrity, accountability, and so many more positive qualities. 

Ever since I was a kid and up until now, I’ve always been a very organized person. This is one of my main qualities, organization. I like keeping things in order and having a system in place to make my life easier. This quality has been the biggest benefit in my life and will continue to be. One of my other main qualities as a leader is having empathy. Being able to connect with not just people but everything around me has always pushed me to continue to have better leadership. I find comfort in knowing I can feel deep emotions for people or things that I might not know. I’m also able to take accountability. I believe that just because someone might have great leadership or is in the position of being a leader, it doesn’t mean they can’t take accountability for their actions. I can admit when I am wrong or when I have made a mistake. I believe in being honest to not only myself but to everyone around me, and that is what assists me more in having great leadership. 

I have grown up with an amazing set of parents that I wouldn’t trade the world for, and I am eternally grateful they raised me to always be sure of myself and to always make the right decisions. My parents sacrificed a great deal for me to have better opportunities than the ones they were given. They were leaders in the way they left their home country and came to a new country they knew nothing about. I always remind myself of their sacrifices that motivate me to try harder and be the best I can be. I feel this essay wouldn’t be complete without integrating some part of them in my writing.  My sense of leadership has come from them and that is why I take pride in being a leader in any way that I can be.   

My main passion is our environment. Having co-founded the garden club at my school two years ago and having completed an internship where I focused on an environmental issue, I’ve realized how much our environment matters and how critical it is for us, as humans, to take care of it the best we can.  This is how I plan to use my leadership skills to better my community. I will apply all of my leadership qualities and give back to the KC metro area. As I move forward in my education and career, I’m planning to start an organization that focuses on improving aspects of our environment in KC. Whether that’s focusing on water pollution, littering, etc… I believe in starting small and working my way up. The only way I can do that is if I use my leadership skills I have learned throughout my life and apply them to the goals that I hope to achieve.