Leadership and Influence:
Chevening is looking for individuals who 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.
(minimum word count: 100 words, maximum word count: 500 words)
I am passionate about being a contributor towards my country's 2030 vision of sustainable development. Country X is at a critical stage in its development, we are currently heavily dependent on the oil and gas industry, however, due to a steady decline in oil prices and global conversion to renewable energy, we are now faced with the challenge of rapidly trying to diversify our economy. To do this it will require proper planning and adherence to sustainable development measures. With my background in Geography and Environmental Science coupled with my leadership skills I believe that I can become a great contributor towards the goal of sustainable development in my country.
My leadership journey started in Secondary school where I held various authoritative positions such as president of the debate club, student prefect on two occasions, member of student council and vice president of the animal lover's club. At university I continued on this path greatly developing my influence as well. I was selected on several occasions by my peers to be class representative at student staff committee liaison meetings. My leadership skills were truly put to the test when I joined the Geography Club executive.
The club is an extension of the Geography department run by students, however there was a great disinterest amongst Geography undergraduates and other members of campus. As Vice President I was tasked with renewing and keeping interest in the club. To achieve this I designed a new logo which was printed on t-shirts for sale in an attempt to rebrand the image of the club. To foster interest in the club I gave great thought into preparing creative games and displays for Guild Fest at the start of the new academic year. Overall the outcome was over 100 t-shirts sold, more than $1,500 raised and over 75 new members signed up. I was also able to lead 2 successful events throughout my tenure, the first one being an all inclusive hike and the second one being a movie day to commemorate world food day. At these events students were able to network with each other.
My leadership journey continued as I started my professional career at Company X. I noticed the abundant use of plastic bottles, especially water bottles. I went to management about installing a water cooler where employees can fill their reusable bottles and placement of a special bin in the kitchen area specifically for disposing of plastic bottles. I was also able to negotiate having an initial 15 minute information session during each department's monthly staff meeting to inform staff of the new initiative and the benefits our reduction can have overall. There was an overall reduction in plastic waste at the office and people were more aware, many were influenced by my initiative and started recycling plastic at their homes.
As a Chevening scholarship awardee I will be able to broaden my knowledge and networks to contribute well thought out and researched solutions to the problem of diversifying country x in a sustainable manner. One more useless thread title = ban