Leadership Experience

Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to team efforts over time.
Grade 11 Leadership is, by far, my favourite path that I have taken. The primary reason was that I am given the leadership opportunity to run a school match from start to finish; my partner and I decided to run a $1.00 per scoop Ice Cream Day. In order to purchase the required items within the budget, it took us three weeks of planning. We had to buy paint banners for promotion, organize volunteers, hang up posters after school and talk to instructors for various room accesses. The atmosphere and the talk about the event greatly showed the influence the planning had done. Promotion within the same grade was much easier because people of the same grade follow each other on social media. I saw younger students that I have never met before taking pictures beside our ice cream banner. This showed the excitement despite it being the start of the second semester.

However, during the event, we realized that we had underestimated the number of people that would buy ice cream. Approximately 200 students bought ice cream instead of our estimated 100. Moreover, some volunteers did not show up. As a result, I had to I call some of my friends to help me rearrange the volunteer positions so that the main parts were filled out. Then, to make the ice cream last longer, I told the volunteers to give less ice cream. With everyone working efficiently, it made a fast transition to get through everybody. Teamwork made everyone happy. After that, my partner took over while I went to get more ice cream with a teacher, solving the final problem. Since it had been 30oC inside a school with no air conditional nor windows, both the event and the customers benefited greatly. In the end, the Ice Cream day worked out smoothly, giving me an unforgettable memory.

Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side.

I grew up experimenting with creative thinking by joining the LEGO team in middle school. It involved creating a robot and devising a robot program to complete the course. Designing the program opened my eyes to how there can be multiple approaches that arrive at the same destination. It was a matter in which one looked more aesthetically pleasing while still being effective. There were certain beauty and satisfaction to creating our original work that could fluidly move. This was the beginning of aspirations to express beauty through creation.

Designing something involves a lot of practice and perseverance. To develop something one must be willing to keep going in spite of making multiple mistakes. That is how I evolved my artistic talents. I have learned that even the way I write, is an art. The reason for this is that it is a creation where my exact cursive and the pressure I apply with each pencil stroke, cannot be copied by anyone else. Writing is a skill that has been harnessed since elementary school. Therefore, the beauty should be appreciated. This has given me reasons to initiate my interest in calligraphy since the beginning of high school. My background within art goes beyond just words but also drawing, sketching and experimenting with paint. It is the ability to see things in your head where the shading is required to make it realistic, which makes it exciting. I happily accepted my mistakes in art when I was younger because I loved what I was doing. Designing and the ability to what I find beautiful is a joy that is only amplified by finding friends within my art council group who love to do this as well.

In the future, I hope to expand my passions and try out pottery and make cups specially designed for friends and families. Not only is it fun but it also creates a unique gift that can be used daily. It does not remain hanging on the wall gradually to be forgotten as people get used to seeing it every day. I’ve learned that art is a permanent token to a temporary emotional moment.

What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?

Music is a language of expression. It is the reason why I have pursued piano for so long, and it has become my most exceptional talent. It is an expression that anyone can complete while being free of judgement. I have been playing the piano since I was seven years old. First, I only played it because I thought I was delightful to listen to it. However, I started to develop my skills by going to piano lessons every week for about eight years. Consequently, piano soon became a part of my everyday life that it evolved into me completing my RCM grade 8 examination as well as my advance theory exam. Through my greatest talent, it has taught me to be patient and determined. Most importantly, it has shown me that the more failures that I come across, the closer I am to success. As I grow older, I develop a musical taste of my own through the skills I have harnessed from childhood. I can now play whatever song I like.

My friends and I often have songs we all like such as Be Together by Major Lazer, Warriors by Imagine Dragons and Rise Up by Andre Day to name just a few. I use my piano skills to do what I like such as having fun with friends by playing the piano while my friends sing the songs. By going away from the classical piano pieces I was taught, I used my talent and played songs I loved. I hope to get a part-time job as a piano teacher once I am through with high school. I do not think I will ever stop playing the piano because it is what has allowed me to learn the disciple and passion needed for practice, rhythms and how to do two different complicated things with my hands at the same time. I hope to maintain these skills. It is for these reasons that I picked up violin classes in middle school and took guitar classes in grade 10, and I love both. My talent is under continuous use and has been continuously developed and demonstrated over my life

What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?

Becoming a leader to the upcoming freshmen creates a comfortable and caring environment which eliminates negative first impressions. In grade 11 and 12, I became a leader in LINK by connecting the grade 8’s, coming from a variety of 5 different middle schools to high school. During summer vacation before schools re-opened, I called ten grade 8’s, introducing myself and the school. Then, during a summer BBQ, we played games with them while providing them with advice about high school. Every game I ran had a meaning that was related in how to succeed in high school. My partner and I rehearsed and presented well-executed tips such as the importance of getting a calendar so that no test will come as a surprise the day before. That is the reason it is called LINK; we act as the linkage between the higher grades and the lower grades, allowing for a closer community instead of segregation between grades.

The good thing about this is that it brings about friendships between the crew itself and between the leaders and students before school even officially starts. Since I’ve already had previous experiences by being selected to be a mentor for grade 6’s in grade 8, I joined in grade 11 because I knew the impact it had and how fun it was. So, I headed into LINK leadership with full spirit while maintaining contact with the grade 9’s throughout the year. Messaging them a happy birthday or saying hi to the halls, had just as much impact on them as our periodic monthly check-ups during the school day with the grade 9’s. This is inclusive of everyone despite some perhaps only knowing two people coming into high school. This kind of consistent relationship between the freshmen and the seniors provides a safe space where anything can be discussed, especially if there if it is to their friends in fear judgement. It’s connected yet separated from the daily circle group within link crew, making it so special. Generally, this participation involves making new students feeling comfortable with a new nerve-wreaking environment.