It only takes one person to
make a positive impact on a child.
My seventh grade teacher saw something in me that forever changed my
life. Excited to learn English, I
found myself looking up every words in the dictionary, but avoiding math. Learning math was like forcing a child
to eat their vegetables at an ice cream store. As my eagerness to learn English grew, I came to find that math
still was not my favorite subject in middle school. I stayed after school for many hours until I learned basic
Algebra. Another challenge that I
came to accept as a newly arrived refugee in America was that I now needed to
fit in to the social norm. After
my first and last fight at school, my math teacher, Mrs. Kelli, encouraged me to
join a student-led organization calls ASB. I remember this experience being a punishment for me. I had to plan dances and organize events.
As time went by, I learned to
enjoy the experience. The skills
and friends I made kept me out of trouble and kept me from my personal worries.
Little bit I know, that was just
the beginning of my leadership journey.
I soon found myself going from being a high school representative to
representing my college’s Student Union Association and later holding leadership
positions in my career. These
experiences allowed me to gain leadership skills while helping others along the
way. Time and time again, I found
myself back in taking on more leadership opportunities and roles. I am happy to have recently accepted my
true calling of being a leader.
