Leadership: Not a Necessity, But Beneficial by Kristin

Leadership: Not a Necessity, But Beneficial by Kristin - March 2015 Scholarship Essay

During my time in college, I have been involved in a number of organizations and held a number of leadership positions; however I don’t think that leadership skills are necessary for college success. College success is a very objective term, but I believe it can be defined as attending college classes, passing all required courses, and graduating with a degree in whatever field you choose. In order to achieve this academic success, a leadership role is not required.

I do believe that leadership roles can contribute to college success, but are not a requirement for it. I have held a few large leadership positions during my time at college and I think they have helped me grow as a person. This personal growth has made me more confident and thriving in other areas of my life. For example, after serving as Vice President of Ritual for my Greek letter organization, I learned to think critically and problem solve as well as improve my communication skills. These are skills that I have carried over in to my academic life as well.

Problem solving is an ability that is useful not only in college, but throughout the rest of your life. I learned that there are times when things will not go as planned and you must improvise to carry out the job successfully. In college, there may be times when you do not fully understand an assignment or project. It is beneficial to know how to step back, think critically and look at other ways to approach the problem.

Something else that I have learned from my leadership roles is interpersonal skills. In most leadership roles, you must deal with other people and communicate a number of ideas back and forth. Learning how to communicate and work with other is a task that will help a person for the rest of their life, not matter what profession they are in. It is not always easy speaking with other people, especially those who do not share the same ideas or beliefs as you. Learning how to communicate ideas and compromise has been one of the hardest yet most valuable skills I have learned.

While these skills and other leadership experiences are not necessary for college success, they definitely will benefit you after college. I know there are people who thrived in college and moved on to get great jobs, even hold leadership positions in their current jobs, but did not hold those roles during college. In my opinion, college success does not require these skills, just academic perseverance and achievement.