I am a Leader Advancement Scholar at Central Michigan University. I have been hand-picked out of thousands across the country and told that I am a “leader of today”; that I am one that can truly make a difference on my campus, in my community, and in my world. It is easy to state these facts, but it is what we do with these opportunities that determine how leadership is defined and it varies so much in between any individual that it is nearly impossible to pinpoint an exact definition. We have fifty students in our cohort and each one got the scholarship for a completely different reason than the last person. For myself, being a leader is all based on engaging myself in everything I take part in for the genuine betterment of others.
Engagement is key. Anyone is capable of forming passions and goals, but when you can go one step deeper and indulge yourself into what you truly want is when you really start making a difference. I have discovered recently that my two largest passions in life are happiness and building healthy relationships: also two things that I try to engage in every day so that I can pride myself in knowing that people are seeing the best version of me.
I am a big people person. I enjoy talking and listening to my acquaintances and my future career models that. I am pursuing a degree in recreation and event management to eventually become a wedding planner. The career path I am working towards is one that is based solely around personable skills than intellectual skills. In this field, I will be working with new individuals every day which means I will have the opportunity to make a positive impact in each of their lives. I am aiming to be able to prioritize and engage each client as well as my workplace to make every venue and event I plan for as easy and effective as possible. I have been told by a large majority of my friends that event planning is a career that would be perfect for me, which makes me feel like I am successfully showing off the version of me I strive to be.
Life is based around the relationships you are willing to build and maintain. The people you connect with are the driving forces of who you will turn into as a person. The people you connect with are also the lives you will have the biggest impact on. I come from a strong faith based family who has reassured me over the years that what I put out into the world will come back to me in the future. Therefore, my family has taught me optimism is one of the most important and rarest aspects of life. I have been complimented on my ability to see the bright sides and smile through lousy situations so that my positivity rubs off to people around me leading to an overall healthier environment. In high school I was the co-chair for student council which meant that administration turned to me when they needed anything. Most often, if the senior class was upset about anything, I was the bridge in between rebelling and senior pranks, and making an overall healthier environment. From this, I have learned that being an optimistic individual is a great way to model what I hope for others to be.
I genuinely care about making a positive impact on people. I don’t volunteer to brag that I volunteer, I don’t support my friends just to make an appearance on their social media. This is a perfect representation of authentic leadership as talked about in Leadership by Peter G. Northouse. I do what I know is right not to get any recognition, but because I have always been taught to lead by example. Beyond that, a bond must be shared between the leader and follower for authentic leadership to work, and I strive to create and strengthen those bonds every day. I recently had the opportunity to go on a service trip to a low-income area in New Orleans and the biggest lesson I obtained out of the trip is that there is no point of having privilege if you don’t use it to better the community around you. I care about making a positive impact in the lives of everyone I connect with, even without getting praise for being that person. Being a leader is different for everyone, but it is all about engaging in your strengths to put the best version of yourself into the world.
Kristen Satkowiak 