HOBY Essays

Cecily Schaefer

1) The most rewarding aspect in leadership is the opportunity I have been awarded to witness the benefits and growth to my school and community. Being a leader entails performing many different tasks, working with numerous individuals and observing life change up close. At the end of the day, knowing that one person can make a difference in the lives of others is what continues to inspire me in my leadership roles. Furthermore, the opportunity to implement new ideas and programs in my community and school is exciting, all the while working to motivate students and citizens to support these ideas and programs. I have found that the most challenging aspect of leadership is working to motivate students to try something different and new. Also, there is a level of discouragement when an idea or program does not succeed to my hopes and expectations. Regardless of the challenges, the rewards surpass them ten-fold.

2) Promoting leadership at Perkins High School is possible through positive student involvement and increased Pirate Pride at sporting events, various school activities and supporting the arts. In order to accomplish increased student involvement, I would identify key students in each grade that would be tasked with the responsibility to sponsor cheers, games and challenges at school activities, thus allowing for more student interaction. These students would play a pivotal role in motivating and exciting other students to step up, show school spirit and watch it spread.

A school is as strong its community, so I would utilize my leadership skills to challenge the
Perkins community to attend more sporting events, offer incentives for alumni to attend games, and in turn support the current student body. Another consideration would be to host a monthly contest between grades that would allow the student body to plan fun activities, and participate in positive sportsman like games. At the conclusion of the year, the grade having displayed the most school pride and student participation during the months of competition would be the recipient of the Spirit Award, regardless of which grade won the actual competition. This award would illustrate to the students, it is not the win, but their pride, hard work and spirit that set them apart from the rest. True leadership is shown by example, I would attend and support a

Cecily Schaefer variety of activities, in order to show my support of my fellow student, and therefore, encourage other students to do the same.
3) Creating a fun atmosphere in high school is very important to encourage student involvement.
As previously described in my answer to item number two, I believe that sponsoring friendly competitions between grades and amongst the teachers would allow for increased school spirit and camaraderie among the student body. Organizing fun school activities, such as a school-wide scavenger hunt, will promote Pirate Pride, encourage student participation and team building exercises. Another benefit to the student body is that these games would encourage the students to perform outside of their normal comfort zone by engaging in a variety of competitions (I.e.
Minute to Win It). I would also suggest a Poster and Best Cheer Contest for those students who shy away from physical competition, thus allowing all students to participate at some level.

I would also identify leaders in the student body from various disciplines including the Arts,
Sports and Academic Teams to create fun activities and promote school spirit. These students would be responsible for proposing games, themes, cheers and programs for the School to conduct during the academic year. As representatives of the student body and leaders, they would set the example for their classmates, which would help improve school spirit. Through these activities and friendly competitions, I believe students will have increased camaraderie, Pirate
Pride, and thus a greater sense of belonging to Perkins High School.