Is the Road to College Success Paved with Leadership Skills? by Joann

Is the Road to College Success Paved with Leadership Skills? by Joann - March 2015 Scholarship Essay

In order to be successful in college, one must have leadership skills. Some might argue that not everyone is a leader and we need followers. While this might be true in many situations, college students should still practice leadership qualities at all times, even when they are following. A few of these leadership traits that all college students should possess are confidence, motivation, ability to work well with others, being proactive, responsible, integrity, organization, and respect.

First of all, students should have organization, responsibility, and be proactive. College is a very busy, fast paced life. If the student is carrying a full load of classes, they need to have an assignment schedule at their fingertips at all times in order to ensure they are turning assignments in on time. Professors in college do not want to hear about how a student forgot about it, did not write it down, or any other excuse they might have. By being proactive, students will stay ahead or be on time with their assignments. It can be very difficult to get caught up once a student gets behind due to the work load in college. Students need to take responsibility for themselves and their assignments, and be willing to accept responsibility for their mistakes as well as their triumphs.

Students also have to possess confidence and motivation and work well with others. Now that they are college students, they will be faced with decisions all the time. They have to be able to trust their ability to make these decisions. Students also have to recognize and accept their strengths and weaknesses, be willing to share those strengths with others, and accept help from others when faced with a weakness. That is what is so wonderful about working well with others. The outcome is always better if a group is able to utilize everyone’s strengths and learn from each other. Possessing motivational skills allows a student to keep working hard, and it also allows them to encourage others around them to do the same. The followers in the world can get lost at college without the leaders that keep them motivated. Motivated people are able to keep the big picture in mind, take the initiative, and accomplish the goals that they set for themselves.

Last but certainly not least, college students must show integrity and respect. College is a time in a person’s life when they are expected to show that they are ready to become an adult. They have to put childish actions behind them, especially when in classes. In doing this, they should put their best efforts out there for advisors, professors, and peers to see. In order to be a successful college student, the students have to show that they have integrity and can be trusted. Even though college life is notorious for being fun and games, these things need to be reserved for socializing, not in class. Colleges have a no tolerance policy for anyone that does anything unethical. The college wants to see what individuals are capable of producing and accomplishing on their own, not what they were able to steal from their peers. If a student does not have respect for themselves or others, their abilities are going to take a back seat to their actions. When students attend a college, they take on a big responsibility. They represent the college, and this is something that a college takes very seriously. They are going to be looking for people that they feel will represent their school to the best of their ability.

The question is black and white to me. Can a student get through college without leadership skills? Of course they can if they have the intelligence, but that does not mean they will be successful at it. There are a lot of college educated people in the world today that are unsuccessful in life because they didn’t use leadership skills in college. They might have made it through and received their degree, but by not using leadership skills they did not reach their full potential and get everything out of college that they could have. A college degree does not necessarily ensure success in life, but leadership skills that are used and honed in college while getting the degree can.