Passion is the key to leadership by Taylor

Passion is the key to leadership by Taylor - December 2021 Scholarship Essay

One leadership quality that has been most important to me has been passion. Being passionate about what you are the leader of defines how successful you will be. In my case, this came with being passionate about fixing isolation among the senior citizen population.

Lonely, depressed, and longing for human contact. This is how so many of us felt during the long months of the pandemic. Not only did my friends and I sympathize with each other about our emotional mindset, but I also started to see the psychological toll it was having on my grandmother. She lives alone in Texas and is in the highest risk group for COVID, so she needed to be completely isolated. In searching for a solution to ease her sadness, I realized how much a simple phone call lifted her spirits. I thought about how many senior citizens were not receiving phone calls and were left alone with no human contact. It also occurred to me that most senior citizens are not proficient with computers, adding to their disconnect from society. To address the problem, I began to seek out a program matching senior citizens with peers at my high school.

Upon learning that there was no such program at the Goebel Adult Community Center, our local adult center, I created a program that I named “Old School Meets High School.” I contacted the Center and was pleased to get an email putting me in touch with the Administrative Clerk. I worked closely with this advisor to confirm the profound need for the program and to reach out to the senior citizen population. I created an advertisement in the Goebel Center’s newsletter and embarked on reaching out to high school students who I thought would enhance the program. After contacting around fifteen peers, five agreed to join this project. Once the seniors learned about the program, they were eager to participate with the high school juniors.

I created a timeline of 8 weeks for each senior-student pair to have a weekly virtual call in which a variety of subjects would be discussed. I realized how awkward it could be to speak with a stranger from a different generation, so I researched and created a list of predetermined topics that seniors enjoy talking about, ranging from childhood memories, to favorite foods, to travel and entertainment. I provided corresponding questions for each topic to facilitate conversations.

During this program, I met two wonderful seniors who provided me with insightful stories and life lessons. One senior spent her entire life traveling the seven continents and immersing herself in new cultures. When we got to know each other better, she confided in me how car mechanics took advantage of her limited knowledge of cars, as well as her being an elderly woman, to make a dishonest profit. In return, I confided in her and discussed the daily stress that comes with taking AP classes. I learned from this senior the importance of broadening my perspectives and understanding how different cultures work. My other senior has spent her entire life involved in community service, helping feed and find shelter for the elderly. Based on her experiences, I am reminded of how fortunate I am, and why I always try to give back to the community.

By identifying a need, taking the initiative, creating the program, and recruiting participants, the benefit was exponential. It required that I become more comfortable speaking to members of another generation and asking others to help reach a common goal. Not only was the feedback from the senior citizens outstanding, but I was surprised to find the high school students benefited just as much, if not more, from the wisdom passed on by the seniors.

The “Old School Meets High School” program has enriched the lives of both high students and seniors, who have integral life lessons to share with younger generations. As the delta variant once again threatens those most at risk, I hope that my program will continue to bring a spark of happiness to all who participate.