Attending General Interest Workshop- HerLead Series of Workshops- A'Jah Canselo Class of 2029

 

  

     For the past six weeks, I engaged in a leadership-building workshop called HerLead. Throughout the timeline of this workshop, we discussed topics such as leadership, compassion, confidence, teamwork, and other qualities that contribute to being a great leader. I initially signed up for just the first session because I didn't think I would be interested, but these workshops allowed me to open my mind and assess myself as a leader. The most pivotal statement that I took from this experience is to "think of service when thinking about leadership". It showed me that leadership is not about being in charge; it is about making lasting changes in your community that will leave a legacy. The workshop also helped me discover the type of leader I want to be, especially as I embark on a new journey in college: I aspire to be a compassionate, efficient, and service-oriented leader. I find that this workshop did more than teach me leadership; it taught me more about myself and how I had unknowingly experienced numerous examples of leadership, mentorship, and love. I would not have recognized these qualities in my life if they had not been pointed out to me.

     Lastly, it inspired me to go back home and make a change. I went to a PWI high school, and the person of color community was significantly smaller. During the college admission process, my high school did a great job at bringing in different colleges to talk to us, give out brochures, etc. However, they never talked about or mentioned historically black colleges and universities, so the other people of color who had previous knowledge and wanted to apply to HBCUs, and I were essentially on our own. As a first-generation college student, both the college application process and the scholarship application process were challenging. Additionally, I have been assisting underclassmen who are interested in HBCUs with their applications, as they lacked knowledge on researching HBCUs and scholarships. So, through the lessons gained from this workshop, I want to go back to my high school and advocate that they include HBCUs within the college admission process because there are so many out there, and even though the POC community there is small, they still deserve representation and the ability to choose from a variety of colleges, whether a PWI or an HBCU.