Chevening is looking for individuals that will be future leaders or influencers in their home countries. Explain how you meet this requirement, using clear examples of your own leadership and influencing skills to support your answer.
Leadership is not only initiate but also to empowering and influence the team to reach the goal together. I've learned leadership since I was studying Interior Architecture, I supported myself by working as freelance interior and product designer to help small companies built their space to sell their product. In 2012, after my several furniture projects, one of my lecturer saw the potential of it and give me opportunity to compete design one of historic bakery in Surabaya called Dahlia. Compete with the other young designer, my design was chosen by owner and I'm leading two other designer to build my design in this project. That was my first Interior project as a student designer, collaborate with contractor which has more experience than me was a challenge. Being doubt and looked one eyed by the carpenter and contractor was everyday treat to me, but I love being underdog anyway. Teamed with two other designer, makes possibility increase. So, I voluntary to leading them to make final decision about the material and budgeting. Sometimes it's so confusing with all their own idealistic but I make win win solution to it and lead them with the clear instruction and complete drawing so the project done nice and satisfactory.
This project makes me realized that I should study more about how to communicated with among designer. Being treasurer in Student Union of my faculty Ciputra University for 2 years help me to learn a lot about being part of organization. I understand being lead and how to expressed opinion towards my fellow designer faculty-mates.
After the Dahlia project, a lot of projects coming up then I'm start and running my own design studio and do some projects in Kepanjen, Malang, Batu, Surabaya, and Ubud. Working with several contractor with many cultural background in every area, make me understood a lot about the power of influence, how to initiate and respect each other opinion.
Graduated in 2014, I'm continued running my studio and it still doing great until now. Then I'm going back to my hometown and decided to help young community there to start their own business based on design. There are KEKKA home decor, NOMU9 Start-up healthy restaurant, and Indonesia Timor. Indonesia Timor is a travel agent company that allow people to traveling and volunteering in East Indonesia. I've had opportunity to do trip and volunteering in Wae rebo in 2015 and 2016. Wae rebo is a small and isolated village located some 1,100 meters above sea level in the district of Manggarai on the island of Flores, East Nusa Tenggara. I've meet the local people and great kids in this area, I have felt like part of a huge family that I can come back every year to teach them about drawing and design. I've learnt from living in the most uncommon places and feeling at home. Today Indonesia Timor develop their activity from volunteering trip from twice a year to four times a year.
Holt Educational Consultant - / 14,835 
4783 Ayu, please remove the reference to your being a treasurer of the student union. It is not really an acceptable leadership position because it is an academic related position and was not developed in a proper manner suitable for the presentation. It is irrelevant to the essay. However, your early projects as a student qualifies as a professional experience due to the elements you presented in the essay. Since you were a newcomer at the time, you need to take the opportunity to prove your leadership and influencing skills in a manner that showcases your early abilities in these areas. Give specific examples of how you won the respect of the contractor through leadership and influence on your part. Do the same for a project that you did after your graduation for profit. That way you can show how you developed your leadership and influencing abilities from the time you were a student. The other references as to your clients is not useful in this essay. You don't need to enumerate those. Set those aside as they may come useful in the networking essay.
