Scholarship / Leadership (Gates Millenium) [4]

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Discuss a leadership experience you have had in any area of your life: school, work, athletics, family, church, community, etc. How and why did you become a leader in this area? How did this experience influence your goals? (7800 CHARACTERS) 6,861 CHARACTERS

"Caring, our way of life." This is the motto of Key Club, a student-led service organization dedicated to improving the community and preparing future leaders. This motto has been a huge part of my life and will have an everlasting impact on who I become. We have a strong national and international presence, allowing the smallest actions of any member to change the world on a large scale. A personal example of service includes celebrating a little girl's birthday at the food bank. I remember her moving slowly, her tiny shoes squeaking loudly beneath a pair of ripped jeans as her mother follows behind. They stopped and exchanged a few words with the woman in charge of the food bank. She smiled and disappeared for moment, returning with a large, white box. What's in there, I asked myself. She opened the box, smiled and began to clap. "Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you!" Moments later, the little girl was exploding with smiles as overwhelming tears of joy filled her eyes. I grinned, happy because she was so happy. I became a leader in Key Club for this very reason, to help others understand the simple joys of volunteering. My school is full of dedicated people willing to help but there are some who do not realize how volunteering just a few hours of your day can really affect how another person lives or feels. Through Key Club I had found a love for volunteering and I wanted a greater purpose for the students at my school. I hope to better the world by creating a new way of thinking in my home, school and community.

My first step towards leadership began when I was voted Bulletin Editor for my club. My job was to notify members of upcoming events and create newsletters every month to summarize past events. I made sure my job was done with my entire effort but I could not help feeling like we could achieve more. I was unsatisfied because my Key Club was perceived as only good since we were recognized around the school. I can't settle for less when I know we are spectacular, and we can go where no club had gone before. I wanted to be the leader that walked in front of the group, the one who leads them to new heights. I promised to make our club closer, to build personal bonds with every single member and create a family-like atmosphere. I let them know that I was trying to improve our community, hoping to find more opportunities. I showed my members that I will always be at volunteer events, ready to lead by example. The next step was to become the face of Evergreen Key Club. I ran against a very close friend during club elections for the job of president. There was a lot of pride, work, and nerves at stake as we practiced and performed our speeches, hoping for even the slightest nudge towards victory. Members drilled me with questions regarding my future actions, my dedication and my purpose for leading Key Club. I answered as well as I could, hoping they could understand my goals and ambitions. Votes were tallied and it was very close but I managed to squeak out a narrow victory, becoming the new Evergreen Key Club President. My hands shook in anticipation of the many responsibilities and promises to keep. There was much to do and much to learn, yet I was excited to begin this difficult task.

One of the first learning experiences I gained as President was in conflict resolution. A month into the job, I already began to have problems with my cabinet. I felt that my secretary was not performing to her full potential (she did not post the meeting minutes and she did not update the volunteer hours after events). I had two choices: attack, blame and point the finger, or listen first and decide on action later. I went with the second choice. "Why aren't you posting up the minutes?" I asked her, giving her a chance to explain her side of the story. It turned out to be more complicated than just, "oh, I didn't do it because I'm lazy." She had problems at home, preventing her from finding time or motivation to post the minutes. This is where my dilemma set in. As Johnny Le, the friend, I was scared for her, but as Johnny Le, the President of Key Club, it was my responsibility that my secretary does her job. So we compromised. Together, we created a list of duties that a secretary has to accomplish and divided them into two categories. One list included things that she will do while the other list included things I will do until her personal issues get solved. The club ran smoothly and a few months later, she absorbed my temporary jobs back into her own jobs. I realized that compromising with her made me a better leader while also making her accountable for her actions. She knew what she did wrong and our mature responses became forward progress towards our goals.

Through my leadership experience, I have taught myself to sacrifice for the greater good by learning how to share power. The friend I ran against for my Presidency became my Vice - President but I knew beforehand that he would not be satisfied by working beneath me. We both shared the same goal and we were both willing to dedicate time and effort to work for it, so it's only fair that he be just as determined as I am to improve our club. He is better known throughout the community so it was easier for him to find volunteer opportunities for us (traditionally this is the President's responsibility), so I let him take over that part of my job. I have seen other people get mad and try to aggressively establish a position of power, setting their club back. I took a different approach by embracing his eagerness with open arms, sacrificing my own personal glory for club success. I believe that a good leader needs to put his club and people before themself and that is exactly what I did.

Now, half a year into my term as a Key Club President, I can clearly see the improvements in my club. There are more members coming to volunteer events, more students sharing ideas at meetings and more Key Clubbers stepping into positions of leadership. I don't know if any of my members have experience life changing events like I have with the girl and her cake, but by getting them to events, my job is half done. The second part of my job is to get them to continually volunteer at events and convince even more people to become involved. There is a still a lot of work to be done but my maturation as a leader makes it easier for my club and I to grow together. We are close, my friends and I, but we can't walk off into the sunset just yet. We might just be kids, but we still have goals and ambitions that we've worked so hard for. We know that fixing the world isn't something we can do, but the leadership experiences we've seen so far is the first step towards changing the world. We might just be kids, but maybe one day, after all our hard work is done, everyone can smile happily over a piece of cake.