Leadership

To me leadership is the ability to influence others, to represent them, and to help them

accomplish things they have never imagined. Leadership has shaped my life as a teenager and it

has made me who I am today. I also know that leadership will continue to shape my life as I

grow into an adult.

I left a graduating 8th grade class of 60 and came to a freshman class of about 500. Only

6 kids came from my old school to my new one. I soon realized that high school would be a

brand new start in life for me. During the first few weeks at the school I learned of the

Leadership class at Ponderosa and I decided to run for the Freshman Class Officer. Stepping into

this position I realized I had just made a huge commitment. I learned how to fundraise, how to

put on rallies, and how to set up dances. I have remained in Leadership all 4 years of high school

and have held positions such as Student Store Manager, Sports Publicity Officer, and now I’m a

Senior Class Representative.

Another experience I have with leadership is in sports. Over the last two summers I have

coached a summer swim team. I took on a huge responsibility when I took the job as the official

Sierra Sharks Swim team coach. As a swim team coach I participated in coaching all levels of

swimmers from 6 and under to 18 year olds. Coaching has given me a lot of experience in

leading a broader age range of people. Another sport contributing to leadership in my life is

volleyball. My freshman year I decided I would play club volleyball during the fall. My

freshman year of club experience proved to be of use. When I tried out for high school volleyball

in the spring, I was selected as the captain of the junior varsity volleyball team. Now that I am a

senior I have been captain of six of my volleyball teams. I have persevered through each team’s

hardships, bringing the team together which shows one of my great leadership aspects.
 Early on, I also came to understand the value of community service. Wanting to make a

difference, I began participating in my church’s youth group, starting out with small projects

such as serving dinner at the local soup kitchen. I later moved on to larger projects such as

painting and repairing houses on a Native American reservation in Nevada. For the past year I

have also helped my mom cook food and take it to the homeless camps in Placerville each

month. Community service has contributed a lot to my leadership skills.

My life has been defined by the leadership positions I have held. Whether it has been

representing the school, leading my volleyball team or coaching swim I have always felt

accomplished and proud of the leadership positions I have held. I know that these experiences

will follow me into my future.

 Throughout my life, I have encountered the chance to experience the position of being a leader. I

have to suffer democratic leaderships through playing on a high school football team, being apart of

groups in college for class presentations, being a youth leader in my church, and also being apart of

a family. I have gained essential qualities of being a good leader through these experiences. Some

of the valuable leaderships traits that I obtained and strengthened are: how to be a team player, to

be a better listener, to have more patience, to be not afraid of constructive criticism, to be outspoken,

and to be a problem solver. Even though I have gained a lot, I still have more things to learn to

become a better leader such as being more assertive, being more disciplined, becoming a better

public speaker, and learn how to be realistic and not too optimistic.

             Playing sports in high school gave me the opportunity to play on both losing and winning

teams. This has given me a different perspective of looking at things. I now realize that even if you

fail or lose that is no reason to give up, you still have to get right back up. Just realize your mistakes

and errors and prepare more yourself to benefit the team. When you come back the next time, be

mentally and physically prepared, and ready to meet the next challenge. When youths and adults fail

at something in their life, they automatically think that they cannot do it, and finally they give up. By

listening to my peers, and by learning from my mistakes I have overcame my obstacles. Through this

I have became a democratic leader. In the classes where I had to be apart of a group to do projects,

I try to take the initiative to encourage people to speak up and give ideas to the group and

brainstorm to come up with ways that help the group to achieve our goals. In these situations, I use

my charismatic leadership qualities to get things going. Most of the time I would be the proble...