Refining Leadership Skills - Key for Success by Samantha

Refining Leadership Skills - Key for Success by Samantha - March 2015 Scholarship Essay

If leadership skills weren’t critical to success in college, why on earth would practically every college application require us to define, qualify and quantify such abilities and related experiences? Students first begin honing in on their individual leadership qualities as early as preschool when the teacher says “Everyone follow the leader”! Not sure how long it takes for the average kid to realize that leadership is a wonderful quality to posses, however there are endless opportunities for students to refine these skills in every grade throughout elementary and secondary schools. If students who plan to attend college, and especially those who don’t, aren’t taking every advantage of opportunities in which to better understand the basics of leadership and to develop their own unique leadership abilities, then this lack of motivation and ambition will likely carry over well beyond the high school years, along with the possibility of limited advancement in life.

When I think about what I believe it takes to be successful in college, I imagine a student who is well organized, goal-oriented, disciplined and committed. I see an individual who also demonstrates strong work ethic and effective communication skills as well as someone who encompasses positivity, humility, integrity and passion. I envision someone who views a challenge, not as an inconvenience, but rather as an adventure or an opportunity in which he or she can effectively create positive change. Interestingly, these qualities all strike me as being important elements in leadership. I think most of us can agree that leadership goals exist in large part, to insight high performance and bring about specific desired results. When a student utilizes strong leadership skills to achieve his or her goals, the result is better preparedness which in turn leads to a greater chance for one’s academic goals to be successfully accomplished.

If we could read the mission statements of all the universities and colleges which exist, I wonder how many would share a common theme of leadership. A lot, I bet! I know the mission statement for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill does. (I should be there in the Fall!) UNC’s mission is to “... teach a diverse community of undergraduate, graduate and professional students to become the next generation of leaders ...”, and there it is! If a mission statement serves as a college’s guidance principal, then it’s pretty fair to say the institution places the highest value upon such principal. Reasonable minds should, therefore, realize that if it is the goal of the institution to prepare students for future leadership roles as they venture out into the world, then developing leadership skills both prior to and during college is obviously a necessary and critical key to the success of all students.