Leaders are fueled by motivation and passion and are able to channel that passion into perseverance.
Throughout college I have tried to keep myself as involved as possible. I’ve joined clubs, worked various jobs, and interned. While staying busy and involved looks great on a resume, I’ve learned it’s not what you do, it’s why you do it. In order to be a good leader, you must be passionate about what you’re doing. Learning to be a good leader means being able to face challenges and turn frustration into motivation. Leaders are fueled by motivation and passion and are able to channel that passion into perseverance.
My first leadership role in college came sophomore year. I had just been rejected two years in a row to be on the Morale Team for Dance Marathon. Morale leaders are the face of Dance Marathon, a student-led organization that strives to raise money for Columbia’s Children Miracle Network hospital, Prisma Health Children’s Hospital. As a freshman I applied to be on Morale, hoping to lead the main event, but I didn’t get a spot on the team. I still participated in Dance Marathon and told myself that I would try again the following year. Fast forward to September of my sophomore year and once again I was denied a spot on the team. I was absolutely devastated because I had fallen in love with Dance Marathon. Then an opportunity came along to apply to be on the Design Committee for Dance Marathon’s 2018 Staff. I decided to apply because I felt that I had nothing to lose. I had no idea that I would gain so much from deciding to apply to this committee. When I finally received word that I would be on this committee, I was so excited but I did not know what to expect. I knew that I loved to paint and that I loved Dance Marathon. Over the next two years I spent countless hours painting marketing banners for this organization while raising thousands of dollars, all for the kids of PHCH.
For one of my beyond-the-classroom experience artifacts, I have attached photos of just a few banners I helped paint for USC Dance Marathon over the years. Balancing class, work, a social life, and now a huge leadership position became more challenging that I expected. I learned a lot about time management, working as a team and communicating, and putting my pride aside while asking for donations. You can see below a snapshot of my donor drive page, where people can go to donate to Dance Marathon. Staff members were required to raise $1,000, all going towards the $1,000,000 donation we would hope to make. In 2018, Dance Marathon exceeded our fundraising goal but the following year we did not reach our goal. It was a weird feeling, being disappointed about not reaching the goal even when we successfully raised over $1,000,000. That was a defining moment for my Dance Marathon experience. I had to realize as a leader, you may not always hit every goal but you have to be proud of what you did accomplish and look towards the future with optimism. If it weren’t for the passion I had for Dance Marathon and the families that we directly impact, I would have given up when times got tough. I pushed through the challenges and now as a senior, I reflect back on Dance Marathon. It is an organization that has changed my life and the lives of many others and I am forever grateful to have been given the opportunity to be a part of the leadership of such a wonderful organization.
Dance Marathon helped me realize that when you are passionate about a cause, you can push yourself and others to believe in what you’re doing. I enjoy leading and working with other like-minded people. Dance Marathon taught me to be a situational leader. Situational leadership is when a leader must adjust their style of leadership to fit those who he or she is influencing. I learned that when you work with so many different people, most of which consider themselves to be leaders as well, you have to remember what you are working for. Ultimately, I decided to put my leadership skills to the test and apply to be a University 101 Peer Leader. University 101 is a program that serves incoming freshman and helps them transition into our great university more moothly than they would alone. Junior and Senior students can apply to become a peer leader and if selected, work with a faculty member to teach a section of U101. As a freshman I really enjoyed my U101 experience and I wanted to play a part in giving 19 freshman a great first-year experience. I was able to learn about this university in more ways than I ever thought possible and I was able to build connections with peers, who I am still sitting next to in class years later. In the spring semester of my junior year, I went through the application process and was ultimately matched to a Pre-Pharmacy section and paired with a Pre-Pharmacy advisor. I immediately became nervous because I am not a pharmacy student so I didn’t know how much I could offer to the students. Nonetheless, I didn’t have any other option so I persisted and decided to make the most of the opportunity. As I am in the middle of the class now I realize that I can still be a role model to them, academically and socially, despite having different career goals.
A requirement to be a peer leader is having to enroll in EDLP 520: The Teacher as Manager. In this class, I meet once a week with other U101 Peer Leaders and a U101 Advisor. We discuss strategies and topics on how to lead a group of 19 freshman students successfully. We focus much attention towards situational leadership and how to apply what we have learned within EDLP to real situations within our U101 class. We have been educated on how to work with a student that has disclosed a sexual assault, overcoming peer pressure, values clarification, study skills, effective communication and much more. My artifact for my within-the-classroom experience is an interview assignment I had to conduct with my co-instructor, Amanda Davalos. Soliciting feedback from a colleague or boss has always been intimidating, as I am overly critical of myself. However, I am glad that I was put in the position to do so because it was pleasant to learn that she had no negative feedback. I was reaffirmed in my beliefs that I was being a good role model to my students and that I am making a difference in their lives as Gamecocks. I also had an opportunity to reflect on what my experience with U101 has been thus far and what I’m hoping to gain by the end of the semester. I was able to make sure that I was doing my job as a peer leader to the best of my ability and conveying all of the learning objectives effectively.
Examples of banners I made for 2018 and 2019 Main Event
Top to bottom: My fundraising totals for USC Dance Marathon 2019-2017, respectively.
All Videos
2018 USC Dance Marathon during the last hour of the 14 hour event
Before coming into this experience I expected my role to be something along the lines of telling the students “this is what to do and what not to do.” It has become so much more than that. I have learned more about the students than I expected to. I have spent hours on the phone with them talking about how hard it is to be a freshman at a school with more students than people in your hometown. Because I have such a strong passion for this university, I have been able to inspire students to keep pushing through doubts and anxiety of their transition and help them to love this school as much as I do. I have had to have difficult conversations but also fun conversations. Difficult conversations are not intended to be easy and there is not always a right answer. As a peer mentor, my job is to help the student work through problems and be a safe space for them. I have to remain positive and passionate and try my best to help them through their situations. Through EDLP and the U101 Program I have learned that I can in fact be a leader and role model, but more importantly a friend. Leaders aren’t just someone standing in front of a room going over objectives during a meeting. Leaders can be someone that you admire and want to listen to what they have to say. I have passion for the University of South Carolina and I hope that my passion has been able to shine through in my classroom, and ultimately inspire my students to become passionate as well.
Through Dance Marathon and University 101, I have learned that people do want to hear what I have to say. Even if I don’t always reach my goals or my timeline gets thrown off, I can still dust myself off and keep going. My passion is a driving force that helps me push through challenges and motivates me to accomplish my goals. A good leader is a passionate leader, and through my within-the-classroom and beyond-the-classroom experiences I have become that passionate leader that I have always wanted to be. I look forward to taking what I have learned in college and translating that to the real world as a physician assistant. I am excited to be a role model to so many people and help them become the best and healthiest versions of themselves. My path to success will not be an easy one but I have learned to persist and when you keep pushing, hard work truly pays off.
My University 101 class on the first day of classes! My co-instructor, Amanda Davalos, is to the left of me.
Click here to see my WTC artifact:
an interview with my University 101 co-instructor