Undergraduate / CMC leadership essay. -- leader Andrew Carnegie [3]

2. Analytical Essay TopicLeadership is a constant theme and emphasis at CMC. In fact, one of the ways we describe CMC students is "Leaders in the Making." Identify and discuss a person, fictional or nonfictional, who has helped shape culture and thought. You may select someone from any field: literature, the arts, science, politics, history, athletics, business, education, etc.

Having an ability to manage myself and enacting my capacity to achieve goals-these are what I consider the rudimentary attributes necessary to become a leader. However, a leader also has to know how to positively change his group; otherwise he is only a leader for himself. Andrew Carnegie is an ideal leader. He was born from an indigent immigrant family and later became one of the most renowned people in the United States. Even though critics may argue that Carnegie contributed to the formation of monopolies and domination of wealth by a top few percent of the society, there is no doubt how greatly Carnegie helped shaping a culture of coming back to community and not losing hold of one's dream. He ardently became the preacher of "social gospel" urging people of wealth to look back on their community and help others who might have been victims of their monetary avarice. He also demonstrated the classical American Dream encouraging future generations to overcome their surroundings as he did.

From 1835 to 1919, Andrew Carnegie lived in an age of the rapid industrialism-a contaminated society where political bosses became inflated and huge monopolies sucked blood from powerless citizens. People with fair minds denounced the tarnished society. They criticized the death of justice. Writers like Fitzgerald showed the emptiness of this sullen American Dream. At first, Carnegie was no exception. He was one of the top people who contributed to prosper of materialism. Of course, some wealthy people donated their money to society: Political bosses helped out urban poor in exchange of their votes. However, Andrew Carnegie indeed stood up among the self-interested millionaires and shined the light of social gospel and philanthropy. He recalled his childhood-the suffering of poverty and vanishing passion for a higher goal- and urged to change the culture of corrupted industrialism. Carnegie managed to become a prototype of a giver; he invested the rest of his life to establishing thousands of schools and libraries all over the world because he remembered his doomed childhood where no resources were available. He established the culture of giving and coming back to the society, not for his own self-esteem but for those who have been hurt by the inequality of the society.

Not only did Carnegie's benevolent contribution fuel the desire to give and help, his successful story helped people of younger generations who come from disadvantaged areas not to give up their hopes. Andrew Carnegie established 3000 public libraries throughout the world because he had a passion for education, which he could not afford during his childhood. Providing free access to public libraries for the people all around the world, Carnegie allowed younger generations to study regardless of their financial status and social position. Carnegie provided millions of dollars of funds for educational institutions, shaping a culture of equal opportunity where anybody can achieve his goals like Carnegie himself did. Carnegie enabled the culture of equality of opportunity and became the leader of those who work for higher dreams.

If Andrew Carnegie was just a king of steels and a main figure of American Industrialism, he would not have deserved the title of leader. Through his great example of charitable American culture aside from the evil of materialism, America realized the nuisance of its avarice. His stout mind to overcome his disadvantaged surroundings reignited a fire of American Dream to the people who have lost their hopes under the dark shadow of urban poverty and lack of opportunity. Carnegie was a true leader in the era of rapid industrial growth not because he achieved great success and donated enormous amount of money, but because he built a platform for next generations to jump over the swamp of monetary greed and fading hopes.

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