Balance by Evan

Balance by Evan - March 2015 Scholarship Essay

To fully examine this topic it is necessary to understand that the answer can be neither simply yes nor no. It is much more complex than that. If we are all vying to be leaders then whom will be left to follow? And if we are only inclined to follow, how then can a student take ownership of their education and pursue knowledge inline with their own desires? Leadership skills are necessary but only so far as they relate to the specifics of a students learning goals.

Leadership requires several admirable qualities such as passion, charisma, intelligence, respect, organization, and stability. Passion allows a student to pursue their interests wholeheartedly and with such intensity as to break through the veil of standardized banality. Charisma helps with enlisting others to join in a cause or common goal, bringing people together in study groups, intellectual conversations, humanitarian projects and more. Intelligence can give great advantage when working through building a constructed understanding of a subject. Respect will provide a more visceral connection to other students thus strengthening their connections to the intellectual peer group that will ultimately become their work peers post graduation. Organizational skills enable a student to be responsible and timely with assignments as well a maintaining a healthy social life that is equally as important as coursework. Stability contributes to a student’s ability to work hard and endure through more difficult situations such as bottlenecked assignment load, community involvement, and independent inquiry.

Education is built not from curriculum but a student’s active involvement and engagement in a subject. In this way, leadership skills provide highly beneficial abilities towards a successful college education but they are not the end all be all. There are many attributes of a follower that are also useful for college education. Some of these qualities are humbleness, attentiveness, loyalty, work ethic, collaboration, and specialization. There is always a balance to be played between knowing when to be assertive like a leader and when to be submissive like a follower. It is the students who can navigate this balance that are the most versatile not only in their college experience but also in their personal and professional lives.