Leadership by Hannah

Leadership by Hannah - March 2015 Scholarship Essay

Leadership. To me, leadership does not mean that a person has it all together, that person is not always the loudest or most outgoing person, and that person does not always know what they are doing or where they are going in life. To me, a leader is a person who is not afraid to stand up for themselves, but also knows when to be quiet. A leader is a person who will not compromise their beliefs, but is open-minded and will listen to other perspectives. A leader is someone who will be a voice for others when those others cannot or will not be heard. A leader is someone who leads, which does not mean they have a lot of followers, but they are doing something or speaking for something that they believe in and that they did not just conform to the social norm.

With having all of that said, yes I believe that leadership skills are necessary to succeed I college. Growing up, every child is taught that they need to not procrastinate, they need to do things for themselves, and that they should always stay true to who they are, which are great life lessons.

In college, a student will be tested by the professors that teach them, the relationships they will be forced to make through group assignments and random roommates, and then entire environment that will be pushed down the student's throat for the time they are attending that university.

A leader does not always have it all together. Yes- a leader might be confused at times. A leader will be quiet sometimes, or a little shy and awkward too. A leader does not always know what they are doing with their life, but they will not desist. A leader is not a person who needs other's praise and worship for their own satisfaction or to let their sufficiency reside in another person(s). A leader will not waiver back and forth over the line. A leader will pick their side and stay on it, this does not mean they will not make mistakes or change their mind, because a good leader also must be open-minded and be able to listen to different perspectives. In college, there will be several new diverse perspectives on several topics. Over the next four or more years, students will learn and grow and make new perspectives

College students have very many pressures that they will have to struggle with. In order to overcome these struggles, these student must be leaders, or else they will likely not succeed. A student must have leadership skills; things like motivation, organization, teamwork skills, being able to solve a problem, accepting responsibility, time management, remaining positive, being able to listen, and being able to speak up.

In college, students need perseverance and determination, those are leadership qualities and I personally do not know anyone who has made it successfully in college without those skills. These traits and characteristics that were previously mentioned are what defines a student who is college ready and who can succeed and do what that person came to college to accomplish. A college student needs to have these characteristics, but that does not mean that a student cannot come to college and gain these attributes.

College is a place of learning, a place of new ideas, and a place of wonderful opportunities. A person can come to college without these attributes but I strongly believe that a student will have to gain these traits, it is a flight or fight kind of situation. Either the student will achieve what they came to accomplish, or they won't, and I believe that being a leader is a key component to success in college.