Hello! My name is Margo Morady, and I am currently a junior studying elementary education. Over my past three years attending this school, I have completed two Inclusion workshops from the Illinois Leadership Centers. I participated in these workshops to fulfill my James Scholars requirement for the semester but found that I learned a lot about leadership and myself from these workshops. Personally, I would define leadership as motivating someone or a group of people towards a common goal. How someone motivates and encourages others is what determines the type of leader they are. To me, I believe a good leader is someone who provides feedback, is a good communicator, motivates others, creative, listens to others, think positively, and is confident. These are qualities of a good leader because together they can help reach the common goal. Providing feedback, listening to others, and communicating with those around you allows for a positive work environment.
Before coming to college, I would have not defined myself as a leader. In high school, I attended a school of over 3,000 students and often found it easier to stay in the crowd. Now, I attended an even larger school, but I would define myself as a leader. From my workshop experiences, I have learned about the importance of leadership and how it can influence/motivate others. One of the biggest things I learned and took away from my workshop experiences was diversity and the importance of it. We all come from different backgrounds and have different experiences that have shaped who we are. By using these experiences and recognizing other experiences, I have learned to become a better leader and take advantage of leadership opportunities. One leadership experience I had while in college was being on the executive board of my sorority Alpha Epsilon Phi. My position on the executive board was as a risk manager. It was my responsibility to ensure the ladies of the chapter were staying safe and aware of Panhellenic guidelines. In this position, I held workshops, led by myself, and outside sources. For these workshops, I had to take initiative and be a leader for my chapter. Another leadership opportunity I’ve had on campus is being on the executive board for the Chabad Center for Jewish Life. In this position, it was my responsibility to plan events and advertise for the event.
As a future educator, having leadership skills is something that is important to me. It is my job and responsibility to motivate and educate the next generation. Having these leadership skills and experiences has provided me with confidence and given me reassurance that I will be a good educator. Taking on roles of leadership can seem scary at times and might even be difficult, but I was able to learn and grow more than I could have imagined from my leadership experiences. I am extremely grateful for my experiences and being able to participate in workshops that allowed me to develop my leadership skills.
