Development Towards Leadership by Erick

Development Towards Leadership by Erick - March 2015 Scholarship Essay

It is said that the first step to improving the world is to first improve yourself as a person. The most important qualities of leadership are born from experiencing individual growth first hand and learning how to integrate your growth into those who would follow you. A leader’s ability to motivate others to strive for their betterment and to display focus under pressure are necessary qualities that one should have in college to succeed.

The amount of independence and responsibility suddenly given to a college student after graduating high school is often considered overwhelming; most college students move away from home and lose the constant push of a parent and find themselves in need of motivation to continue on the way they did in high school. You see the need for motivation in all successful leaders, whether they are in the form of parents who stress the importance of hard work, teachers who instill focus and determination into their students, or leaders of countries during dire times. In December of 1941, the United States was suddenly confronted with an appalling tragedy as a result of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The majority of the country’s citizens were clueless on what to do next but President Roosevelt made his address and sparked a fire during one of the United States’ darkest times, turning the tide of the war. When a student is introduced to college, they can find themselves without direction and panic but the successful student knows to spark the flame and motivate themselves just as a leader motivates others. That same inspiration that leaders pass on starts from the motivation they have found themselves when faced with obstacles. A college student’s self-motivation and drive is essential to becoming successful when thrown into the world without any guarantees of people watching over you.

College is one of the primary gateways we face to achieve maturity that is needed from us as adults; the primary way college forges us as young adults growing to be the next generation’s leaders is by testing our will and conviction to making right choices when faced with adversity. When college students who are still finding their way are given such an immense amount of freedom, it is easy to stray from priorities and become enveloped in other side activities and lose sight of what was set to be accomplished when arriving at college. When Nelson Mandela was arrested for acts of treason while fighting for equal rights in South Africa, he remained convicted to his goal of unity for South Africa’s citizens. After being released twenty seven years later, his dedication to that goal had not wavered and he continued to protest, becoming a symbol for change. As a result of Nelson Mandela’s focus and judgement of when to be adamant on his goals, his work as an activist and revolutionary leader is considered a primary reason for the success of the removal of the pro-apartheid government in South Africa. Although students are not detained to college and its responsibilities for twenty seven years, there is still a struggle to remain driven day-by-day. The focus displayed and judgement of how far and how hard a leader must push is a skill that college students must strive to integrate into their own lives to prove that they are willing to work for their own success in their college careers.

A leader’s obligation to their followers is to instill the same level of enlightenment that they once found before becoming what they are. For someone to successfully improve the world, they must know how to improve themselves and that improvement is displayed through college by evaluations of motivation and focus.