Everyone is a leader by Shayla

Everyone is a leader by Shayla - March 2015 Scholarship Essay

Forbes defines leadership skills as honesty, ability to delegate, communication, sense of humor, confidence, commitment, positive attitude, creativity, intuition and ability to inspire. When leadership skills are broken down into these ten components each individual attribute is essential for college success.

When my sister and I graduated high school and went to the University of Northern Iowa together we thought we were adults. We had it set in our minds that we were going to get good grades, make lots of friends and enjoy the freedom from rules. I have to admit now that some of our priorities were immature. In my immaturity I saw the peers that had a lot of friends and were always busy doing whatever they pleased as leaders, as cool. I even tried to keep up with the “leaders”. By the end of my freshmen year of college I had learned some of the most valuable lessons; leadership skills look different for different people and leadership skills are essential for success in college and life.

By the start of my sophomore year of college I figured out that I am a leader. My leadership skills may not look exactly like anyone else but that didn’t negate my ability. This epiphany was huge because it allowed me to be the natural born leader that I was. So I wasn’t the one, and skill am not the one, that sits in the front and delegated responsibilities, or the one that is creative and makes everything esthetically pleasing. I am Shayla. The communicator. My leadership skills came through as the seemingly reserved person in the group that would take the lead in communicating; honest communication, problem-solving communication or interpersonal communication. I am the positive one that never stops encouraging and smiling. In the past I would not have seen these as leadership skills but my definition of a leader is someone that influences others and I do this every day. When I answer a question in a lecture or even ask a thoughtful question I am influencing the thoughts and attitudes of others. This could lead to a change in behavior for that person.

College was supposed to prepare me for a job and that is exactly what my college education did. It helped me realize my strengths as a leader and develop my leadership skills even more. In college I actually majored in communication and learned how to communicate with others better but I also learned skills like self-advocacy, confidence and a little more creative, although I am still working on creativity. These skills were essential for my success in college and will be equally important during my graduate studies.

However, the best transfer of my leadership skills has happened as a teacher. Every teacher is a leader because they have the ability to inspire students to change their attitude and actions. Plus, teachers are the leaders in teaching leadership skills. I am a Spanish teacher at an alternative high school and every day I use the leadership skills that I learned in college. I also try to help students realize they are leaders (for positive or negative) encourage students to become positive leaders in the classroom. A teacher without leadership skills is like a life without meaning. Leadership is vital.