WOODBURY — Leadership.
This word holds many meanings, and can strike various different feelings for people. For some, they might be reminded of all of the doors that have opened up since they started on their leadership journey. Others, however, most commonly feel as though they should steer away from it, purely because of fear, boredom, or just because they’re uninterested in taking on a role that makes many people uncomfortable.
After being in the FFA all throughout my high school career, I’ve had many leadership roles and opportunities open up over the past four years. Some were certainly harder than others, and took a lot of encouragement from both my peers, mentors, and even just some small pep-talks from myself.
I get it. Leadership isn’t for everyone – and that’s okay. I know firsthand that it’s also one of the scariest things to voluntarily participate in, at least in most situations. Leadership takes practice, and as scary as it is, it’s one of the aspects of student involvement that high schools long for the most.
“Learning to lead at the high school level allows for personal growth and development within a supportive environment,” said Kathy Green, the NHS College and Career Resource Center counselor. “Assuming leadership roles in high school enables students to encounter challenges which encourage problem solving and communication skills as well as self-confidence.”
“It’s important to develop these skills now while you’re in a comfortable setting,” adds Jennifer Jedd, the Woodbury FFA program director. “These skills are going to be necessary for your whole life because life is basically about selling yourself. Learning how to do it now and figuring out what methods work best for you now while you’re in high school will benefit you forever.”
Developing these skills, especially within your adolescent years, will contribute to many levels of success in the future.
“Student leadership is really important because it shows kids how to really be responsible and delegate, as well as many other things that they’re going to need in the future if they want to be a boss or even if they just want to work with a business,” said Kyleigh Paige, Woodbury FFA Chapter vice president. “They’ll need to be able to realize how important it is to be a leader no matter whether it’s on a project they’re working on for school or a new position they got at work.”
“Student leadership is important because it allows students to help others and be members of a team,” Amy Wiknik, the Connecticut State FFA reporter, adds. “It gives future leaders the ability to believe that they can achieve something great and have a purpose.”
Putting yourself out there into leadership positions isn’t an easy task. Being a part of the Woodbury FFA program at Nonnewaug has had a significant impact on my leadership journey.
In fact, it’s where it all started.
My first leadership experience was towards the end of my freshman year. As things were starting to get back to normal post-pandemic, I wanted to see what the program had to offer outside of a computer screen. While I was in the waiting room for a game night event, a sophomore block officer introduced me to the Creed Speaking competition.
The Creed Speaking Leadership Development Event is a competition where students are to memorize and recite the FFA Creed in front of a panel of judges, then proceed to answer interview-like questions afterwards. With this being my first ever event, I was petrified. There were many times where I felt like backing out too. But, these nerves are normal.
“Student leadership changed my life entirely,” said Breanna Butkievich, the Connecticut State FFA President, NHS alumnus, and Quinnipiac sophomore. “I went from a super shy kid who wouldn’t take one million dollars to talk in front of a room to doing all of the things FFA has allowed me to do like advocating for agriculture, speaking in front of large groups, and even outside of the blue jacket working in student government at Quinnipiac University.”
Oftentimes, when people start on their leadership experience, they set their focus on living up to the standards of that “picture-perfect” leader. You’re not going to speak perfectly clearly during your first-ever speech, and you’re certainly not going to be able to contain every person you come across when handling a large group. But that’s okay, too.
“Qualities of a good leader include commitment. It’s so important to be invested and complete all tasks,” Wiknik said. “When you’re a leader you’re usually a part of a team and it’s determinable to the team’s success to accomplish what you need to. Additionally, communication is huge! This includes public speaking and communicating with peers or teammates. Moreover, a leader is great at listening to others and being able to delegate tasks.”
“In my experience the most important quality of being a leader is being one 100% yourself in every situation you’re in, putting all of yourself into your passion and your leadership, and using that passion to make a better world and community around you,” Butkievich adds.
There’s no such thing as a perfect leader, it takes lots of practice and time. One of the most important factors that play into being an eminent leader is staying true to yourself. Be confident, don’t underestimate your abilities to do something of great power.
Participating in the Creed speaking competition certainly wasn’t easy, but looking back I have absolutely no regrets. Taking on that one event changed my life as a leader, and even just a person entirely and has allowed me to continue on my leadership journey to endeavor various different competitions and leadership roles over the course of my high school career.
As you embark on this journey, various doors will open up that you probably never saw yourself going through, and they will benefit both yourself as well as the community around you. So, as a growing leader myself, I encourage you to put your fears aside and take that step out of your comfort zone. Fear is temporary, but regret is forever.
This is the opinion of Chief Advocate senior editor Emma Cummings, the Woodbury FFA treasurer.
