An Unexpected Leader by Darby

An Unexpected Leader by Darby - July 2018 Scholarship Essay

In school as I was growing up, I was never really in the popular crowd, and was quite frankly a shy, nerdy girl who loved to read and did not like to get involved in any drama. Needless to say, growing up I was not who most would expect for student body president, because in the schools I attended, any position such as student body president, student council, or even a class officer, was more of a popularity contest rather than based on your qualifications for the position. I tried to not let this discourage me, and still ran for officer positions several times throughout my school career, only to find out when the results were in that someone in the popular crowd had won. It was not until my junior year of high school that I finally got elected for a position, and it was one I was quite shocked but proud of – Class President. Throughout my year serving as Class President, I kept the challenges I had gone through being a shy, nerdy girl, at the forefront of my role, and used this to try my best to include everyone in my grade in decisions and activities, being sure to involve those who were not in the popular crowd.

You may be wondering, “How does this have anything to do with this essay contest?” Well, while I have not run for any student government position since then, if I were to run for such a position while in college, my goal would still be the same. You see, when it comes down to it, college and high school can be quite similar in that regardless of your school’s size, there are still cliques and there will still be those in the popular crowds and those who are left in the crosshairs. My main goal if I were to be student body president would be to try my best to include everyone in some form or fashion. If I were unable to include everyone physically, I would go around and get people’s opinions and advice and ways for improvement, and really take these pieces of information to heart, because as student body president your job is to represent the students in your school and suggest ideas for improvements and/or changes in your school accordingly. I view a good student body president as someone who when considering an issue or change to improve the school, consults with the students to see what decision may be best for all the students, not just a select crowd.

Overall, if I were student body president at my school, I would not promise free ice cream or pizza, but rather would make only one promise. That promise is to be a voice for the students at my school and try my very best to represent all the students in a way that benefits everyone and not just a select few. I believe by doing so, things will run a lot smoother and students at the school will be happier; therefore, positively impacting the school.