This week marks the beginning of our sixteenth semester at Alzar School. Gear lists, webinars, admissions gatherings and pre-semester orientations have helped prepare students and their families for the semester ahead. However, as with many new experiences, there are certain variables that remain unknown to us until the end of the semester. One of these variables is just how students’ ideas and perceptions of leadership change and grow during their time at Alzar School.
When I first came to the Alzar School I believed that being a leader couldn’t be learned, that there were things that just made a born leader, but now I think differently. – Willa
Willa is not alone in her initial thoughts on leadership. Many students enter Alzar School thinking they will never fulfill their preconceived ideas of how a leader is supposed to act. Throughout the Alzar School semester, students learn the various roles, techniques and types of leaders and how each can be effective in the right time and space.
In their final assignment for the Capstone Leadership Course, Fall 2019 students were asked to answer three series of questions regarding leadership philosophy. Here are some of their responses:
Series 1. How have your thoughts on leadership developed? What did you believe before coming to Alzar School? What do you believe now?
My thoughts on leadership have changed throughout the semester because early in the semester I thought there was only one type of leader, the one with the powerful voice. Now I realize there are many different types of leaders, and you don’t have to have the loudest voice in order to be the best and most effective leader. – Sophie
Series 2. What is most important to me when leading? What do I want people to follow me for? What would I want my followers to say about me as a leader?
Courage and purpose are incredibly important to me as a leader and as a human. I think that a leader with no purpose, no idea, and no grit needs to re-evaluate what they are doing. I want people to follow me because they see that I can improve their lives in some way. Whether that be something big like helping them through life issues or if it’s just being someone that they can go to for help with homework, I want to be there for people. I don’t need to be talked about or praised because if I spend my whole life trying to help people and only manage to help one it will have been worth it. – Frannie
Frannie in Chile.
Series 3. Write your own leadership philosophy.
Leadership is putting yourself on the line for your followers. Leadership is the power of your words and the impact you have on others. It is pushing others to do their best by pushing yourself to the limits. It is about being the voice of the voiceless, and being someone who people want to follow, to believe in. It is to making hard decisions, not the easy ones and living your life for a purpose. Leadership is always learning, and accepting your flaws as well as constantly working to improve them. – Theo
As our Spring 2020 students take their first brave steps into the Alzar School semester, we know some may be feeling uncertain. However, we know, looking back at the outcomes of past cohorts, that through the semester’s challenges will arise newfound strength, understanding and perceptions of how to be a leader.
