Im really passionate about music so I volunteer at senior homes and play music for hours every week. I wanted to run for secretary of this volunteering club at my school, but I completely embarassed myself. I thought my speech was good and I talked about my passion for community service, but I lost to these two really popular girls.
It kind of sucked because I got almost no votes, while the girls who won had never volunteered in their entire lives…
I wish I could start a club, but no one I know wants to join and help me. How important is leadership and what should I do??
Thank you guys for the help!!
ps. ^ this is such a pathetic story I know
T26E4’s thread is a good one. I want to add that kids almost always 1) think leadership is some kind of magic college admissions bullet and 2) define leadership too narrowly. Please do yourself and the rest of the world a favor and don’t start a bogus club just to be able to say you are in a leadership role.
If you are passionate about music, look for ways to expand and deepen your commitment. I assume you already play in an orchestra or group, in addition to the senior home. See if you can assist the teacher in preparing for music-related events, teach music to kids, volunteer at an organization that brings music to others, start a band/quartet, perform on a street corner, learn how your instrument is made, study the history of your favorite music form, try writing something for your instrument…
There are so many ways to demonstrate creativity, ingenuity, willingness to take risk, intellectual curiosity, compassion, and other vitally important qualities that colleges are looking for. Leadership is just one more quality and by no mean a ‘must have.’ There are many students at top schools who have wowed admissions (and gained important life experience) by simply following through on where their interests and passions take them.
@T26E4@N’s Mom @JustOneDad
Thank you for your replies. The club I wanted to start was for my music performances at senior homes but no one wants to join. Yes I am in school orchestra and outside youth groups.
“The club I wanted to start was for my music performances at senior homes but no one wants to join. Yes I am in school orchestra and outside youth groups.”
Leadership to some extent is the ability to inspire others to take action, because they see something in how you are being that touches and moves them. It’s not about being the founder or president of something. Are you doing this because it really inspires you, or because you want to lead something? If the latter, you may not be coming across as authentic, and may not be inspiring others to action. If you are truly inspired by the idea of music performance at senior homes (not because you want to found or lead something, but because you genuinely want to do it) then start doing it, and keep the opportunity open for others to join. Talk to the directors of your orchestra/band groups and outside youth groups for ideas on how to get this off the ground, or reach out to other groups to tap in to a wider pool of potential participants.
Not getting stopped in the face of adversity is one of the qualities of leadership that inspires others, and that colleges prize.
College admissions people talk about leadership because it’s easy: Most people think they know what that means and how to ‘prove it.’ In fact, they latch onto ‘demonstrating leadership’ like a life-raft. All you have to do is get yourself elected into some ‘leadership’ role at a school club or team, right? The more ‘leadership roles’ the better. Create a new club if you can’t get elected to an existing one. Start a non-profit and you can be the president of that too. (And if you have any integrity at all, you will put in some effort and develop some important skills in return, so not a waste of time.) But there are lots of other ways to demonstrate your value to colleges, OP, so don’t feel obligated to go the ‘leadership’ route.
College admissions staff know that qualities like intellectual independence and curiosity, or exceptional creative vision or ingenuity, or unusual empathy are harder to demonstrate, but are just as critical and they love getting those applications. Those kids, instead of racking up ‘leadership positions,’ have done something that they are genuinely passionate about. And yes, they may have a traditional leadership role somewhere in there because they think they have to. But frankly, it was their uniqueness that made the difference, not the ‘doing what everyone else did’ that got them noticed.
So sure, be president of some club if you can get elected. You can learn something from it. But if not, don’t worry about it. If music is your passion and your gift, then be true to that part of yourself. Put some effort into exploring that gift and sharing it and expanding upon it. That is something no one else can do and it will ultimately bring you joy (and, if you get lucky, admission to a school that cares about attracting that kind of person.)
@N’s Mom wrote: “So sure, be president of some club if you can get elected. You can learn something from it. But if not, don’t worry about it. If music is your passion and your gift, then be true to that part of yourself. Put some effort into exploring that gift and sharing it and expanding upon it. That is something no one else can do and it will ultimately bring you joy (and, if you get lucky, admission to a school that cares about attracting that kind of person.)”
If the OP is inspired by bringing music to senior citizens, that’s great, and shows compassion and community service, and a wish to expand on those skills. If others are inspired to follow that path, then it shows leadership skills as well.
It’s not really that hard to get leadership. What I did was join a club where there are not that many or none at all that are upperclassmen. I joined the club freshmen year and senior year I got auto captain since I have the most experience.
Is there any way for you to gain leadership in your music activities? Even organizing a few other people to play at the nursing home with you counts as leadership. You just may have to look broader than being a club officer.
@renaissancedad@N’s mom @readingclaygirl
Thanks for the advice. I’m going to ask my orchestra to tell all his students about the senior center if anyone wants to join me
“I’m going to ask my orchestra to tell all his students about the senior center if anyone wants to join me.”
That’s the ticket, @catlover2000. Do it regardless of anyone joins if you are really inspired by bringing music to senior citizens. Get in touch with homes and organizations - create a contact list. Then have your orchestra director tell students about it and suggest that anyone interested get in touch with you. You become the automatic leader - you started the idea, and you have the contacts. If people get one board and it works, expand the offer to other youth groups that you may know and be involved with. If you expand an activity beyond the limits of a school club, it shows tremendous initiative. Then your community service has an item that reads something like “started and organized volunteer youth group to bring music to senior citizens homes; expanded group to encompass [state breadth of volunteer pool and target audience].” Ideally, you could create something valuable that could persist after you move on to college. You might also have something interesting to write about in your essays, including the part about no one initially signing up, and not getting stopped.
Some of the best essays I have read are from people who put themselves out there for election and got no votes.
You sound like a kid who has lots of things they’d like to accomplish. I believe that the whole “leadership” factor thing ad-coms get from your essay, not from what actual leadership positions you’ve held.
You have definitely got an powerful essay in the making.
