The Great Beginnings of a Great Leader
By Madilyn Mendiola, 8th grade
Many people assume that teenagers would not have enough responsibility or maturity to be great leaders. Leia Baca wants to change their minds. As NJHS President, Leia wants people to realize that teenagers can be capable of being great leaders and also be active in their communities.
Leia wanted to run for president because in her own words she “always felt like if there was a chance to make a change or do something better for others she would take that chance.”
One of the impacts she wants to make for the school is to keep the school clean and to spread awareness on mental and physical health. “I want to set up some efforts to clean the outside of the school a bit and spread some awareness to topics such as cancer, other diseases, and disabilities.”
Leia is also ready to participate in the other community and volunteering events that NJHS already has planned. “I’m definitely excited for the dance this Friday as well as community service projects at the Humane Society.” Even though the dance might seem like an obvious favorite she is also incredibly thrilled to do Humane Society. When asked why she replied “I really enjoy working with animals since I grew up around a lot of them so getting to volunteer with cats and dogs sounds super fun.”
Even though Leia is president she also understands how important the other positions are such as vice president,secretary, and historian. Leia believes that if she didn’t run for president she would have decided to run for secretary. “If I wasn’t president I would probably run for secretary, I also love writing and secretary would be perfect for that.”
She believes that to be a great leader you need to have great role models to look up to. Leia said that her biggest role model is her dad, “Definitely my dad he’s always been a great leader and role model to me. He was salutatorian in high school and I’ve always wanted to be in those ranks.”
It’s clear to see why Leia was chosen for NJHS president. She is responsible and mature at such a young age and it’s incredibly difficult to find that these days. Since she is NJHS president one of her duties is to inspire other kids to be their best. Her advice for kids to be the best version of themselves not just for themselves but for their family, friends, and community is that “I think that trust is very important and making sure that the teachers know what students are going through so that we have a better understanding of each other. If students know that they can trust one another, maybe they will learn that they can be mature enough to understand others.”