Rafael Montes - Week 16 5/14 - Right Place, Right Time: My time as a Leader
Similar to Juliette’s blog topic on shared experiences, I feel compelled to ask: does anyone else find certain experiences are simply too convenient or uncannily relevant? I find I wonder this more and more. It doesn’t happen often, but it produces an odd feeling—something like Deja Vu.
I had an experience like this during the League of Leaders (LOL) leadership event on the fifteenth of April earlier this year. Aside from personally visiting Irvington High School for the first time, I was completely blown away by the day. Between having team-building workshops and school spirit rallies, the event was a well-balanced mix of education and fun. What especially stood out was an informational presentation we were given by Ryan Willer, the Activities Director at Irvington.
After about an hour of lining up by schools, each leadership member filed in to be seated in Irvington’s theatre. After a few school chants, Mr. Willer gave a speech/presentation similar to a TED talk. The message and feeling I received were inspiring, to say the least. Mr. Willer obviously spoke about leadership and leadership qualities. He mentioned how most people don’t see themselves as leaders due to how large or overbearing they overthink it to be.
He proposed a different perspective on how to be a leader. He suggested we take small but conscious steps at least once a day to reflect leadership qualities. The most subtle yet pressing effect these qualities have is through “Lollipop Moments.” Mr. Willer described these as positive, almost cathartic experiences someone has due to the actions of another person. As an example, Mr. Willer mentioned how a simple bet on math scores with the smartest peer in his elementary class led him to transform his D+ into an A, changing his trajectory and interest in mathematics so far that he even teaches math when not directing activities.
Then he called us out. Explaining how each of us had been picked for leadership roles. We had “proven ourselves unique” through an interview process, but it was time to fulfill that role. Immediately after the speech, I felt a feeling of urgency. This feeling was only emphasized when we were given a handout. It was a simple one-sided paper with printed squares, one for every day of our term as leadership members.
Obviously, I’m a junior. There is no “re-election” for me. Depending on how I view this, it could mean less stress, so the feeling granted might be different for sophomores or freshmen. But the fact is my team is just halved compared to theirs. That’s why I’ve got to make every day count. returning readers will recognize this theme—I’ve mentioned it before. To clarify, I don’t mean to glaze myself or my position in leadership. Mr. Willer laid it out for us. He proposed that we do one act of inclusion or leadership every day to start. Give or take, I’ve got 190 days until the end of my 2026 senior year. That's at least 190 steps of fulfilling my role to incite improvement at American High—with an entire summer to practice.
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Hi Rafael! I loved how you approached this topic, and I’m glad I also got to hear a bit about Mr. Willer’s points on research. Although I don’t particularly want to pursue being a leader in school, I can definitely relate to wanting to be a good leader as I am the president of a non-profit!
ReplyDeleteWith Mr. Willer’s speech reminded me of how important it is to keep that in mind with most goals—whether they are similar to being a leader or not: just taking one step each day at least to try to work towards your end goal is such a good way to improve! Even though it seems like such a simple and obvious idea, I usually tend to overlook it whenever I try to learn something new or improve at a particular skill, so thank you for your reminder!
It sounds like your journey to becoming an amazing leader is already going well, so I hope it works out for you! Good luck with your senior year. Thank you for such an inspiring final blog, Rafael!
Hey Rafael, first off, your description of the League of Leaders event was extremely vivid—I could feel the excitement and anticipation that you felt during the day. Mr. Willer’s speech sounds inspiring, motivating, and confident, which is what I’m sure it made you feel like. This made me think back to the time in 2021 when I graduated from a language school that I had been attending to learn my mother tongue, Tamil, for ten years. At the graduation, the principal of the school gave an incredibly motivating speech about how the skills we learned can be applied for the rest of our lives (when we visit India, talk to relatives living in India over the phone, etc). It was a rare speech that inspired me to look beyond the stereotypes associated with schools (like homework and tests) and more towards the real-world applications of my learning. Before I conclude my comment, I would like to take a moment to thank you for all your blogs this semester. They were personal, honest, and philosophical at times. I feel like they were a major reason behind us becoming friends over the course of the school year. For the last time, thank you for sharing Rafael!
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