Leadership and its Benefits by Rebekah

Leadership and its Benefits by Rebekah - March 2015 Scholarship Essay

College is most often the first chance that students receive to live and survive on their own, free of authority at every turn. Students are encouraged to meet with teachers, counselors, and future business partners without the security blanket of their parent or guardian. Taking the leap into adulthood and, consequently, independence requires leadership over one’s own life and choices.

In the same way, college is a chance for students to learn to work alone. There are set deadlines on papers and assignments, but no schedule given to students to tell them when chapter 15 should be read or when the rough draft should be finished. This independence in schoolwork creates motivation and accountability, not only to the teachers, but also to the students, each to themselves. However, without the leadership skills to drive that motivation and use it to accomplish great things, the motivation stays stagnant and eventually dies out.

Another area that requires leadership is the interaction with others, whether it is on the college campus, or in the dorms, or in the classroom. People depend on each other for help and cooperation. If the teacher has assigned a group project, each one of the members must take leadership to work together and separate the work into pieces that can then be accomplished by the individuals. The work done by each team member then requires leadership, or rather, a type of self-leadership, to be finished. If a student is gone one day in class, someone must take leadership and the initiative to get that student caught up.

Leadership is a paramount quality in life, but it must be persistently expanded on. College is an experience where that quality is necessary to accomplish anything. Leadership creates motivation to get work done and to address deadlines and appropriate courses of action. Leadership also incentivizes accountability and teamwork, which brings about more success. The benefits of leadership nurture skills that can be carried past the college campus into everyday life, for the rest of life. Without leadership, success in college is nearly impossible.