A True Leader by Jada

A True Leader by Jada - May 2024 Scholarship Essay

Leadership, like a guiding beacon in the tumultuous sea of human endeavors, stands as an indispensable force that shapes societies, organizations, and even myself. In every facet of my life, the essence of leadership arises like the fresh sun, steering collective actions toward shared goals and aspirations. At its core is a leader who thrives on inspiring, empathizing, and sharing their passion with others. That’s who I strive to be.

I was told that I was a natural-born leader, but this didn’t satisfy me. I wanted to learn how to become a true leader and that came to fruition through watching my former architecture teacher, Yojairo Lomeli. Firstly, he helped me understand the importance of inspiring those around me. Inspiring others is the beginning of building a trusted relationship between a leader and their team. This naturally ignited motivation and enthusiasm in those surrounding me like a dormant flame. By sharing a captivating vision, setting ambitious goals, and showing an unwavering commitment, a leader can easily inspire others to strive for greatness and go beyond the stars in their effort. This is important because, oftentimes, challenges and obstacles appear whilst doing group work, which is a big part of architecture, and these can only be fought in a collaborative effort with a team built on trust and inspiration.

Of course, it’s close to impossible to inspire without empathy. I quickly learned that a good leader needs to have empathy. I didn’t have to learn how to be empathetic but to use empathy effectively. Professor Yojairo always understood where my classmates and I were coming from when we were struggling. He made sure to understand our struggles and guide us toward growth. Because of that, I learned how to develop emotional intelligence and use it to understand the needs and feelings of those around me. This made it easier to guide, inspire, and problem-solve when working with others in both formal and informal settings. I learned that empathetic leaders have an easier time communicating with their team members because they can understand their emotions, concerns, and motivations. This allowed me to adapt my communication style to address the needs of those around me. Empathy assisted me in seeing conflicts from multiple perspectives and understanding the underlying emotions driving them. This provided me with the necessary tools to resolve conflicts in a way that satisfied everyone involved and promoted harmony within the team. This skill wouldn’t have been crafted within me without having Professor Yojairo as my teacher. My guide. My leader.

He’s not only taught me how to be a better student and a better leader but he’s taught me how to be a better person. Learning how to inspire and use empathy while working has allowed me to understand people better than I originally could. I can work in groups and even offer advice without feeling like I’m being rude or too stern. These are important qualities for me to have as I embark on my journey to design for the community. I’ve dedicated myself to architecture to design safe spaces for those in need. I hope to build teams full of people with the passion to help the community and I wouldn’t have that goal if Yojairo didn’t prepare me for the leadership that’s required. His leadership was the first contribution to a bigger and brighter future. He is, and will always be, a true leader.