By Laelah Jackson
As a leader at Berkeley High, I define a leader as someone to look up to and turn to as an example to do good things. A leader is someone who takes initiative in certain situations and is not always in the spotlight, I know that there are a lot of leaders who are behind the scenes. Leadership is when people can bring others together to make a tight knit community.
This year, I observed a lot of more experienced leaders trying their hardest to bring the school together. There were rallies, dances, events, that hard working students put on to get their peers to come out and celebrate. I also saw people turn to people during more difficult times when a lot of people were hurting and angry during the BSU Walk Out. I believe these events happened because leaders were trying to bring our BHS community closer together so we can have fun and also when other students need more support and others to stand with them. I believe this is seen all the time outside of school, in my opinion. I often hear about certain people putting on protests and holding rallies for a specific cause. These people show leadership skills by using them to get people to come forward and stand up for what they believe in.
In the future, I plan to use this information to try my best to get others to come out and support BHS and its students. I will also be there when tragic events happen and I will speak when others don’t have a voice or have been silenced.
Often, society looks towards people to call its leaders. These people are often outspoken, bold, can take initiative. And often, these types of people are needed in certain situations. I also think that a leader is one who shows dedication to their team and who they lead. A leader would never leave anyone behind. I believe that leadership is when others are looked to as an example to do better and stand with others, not in front of them.