Developing Student Leadership: A Student's Perspective

by Annette, Gr. 11 student

“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” — Jack Welch

On April 6, I was given the opportunity to collaborate with other student leaders of service learning teams at YIS to explore the concept of leadership and how to be a good leader at our second annual Service Learning Leadership Retreat. Over the course of the day, we went along the process of solving problems within our community, and following the mindset of a good leader.

Students speak to school leadership about how to develop leadership skills. Annette is pictured on the right side of the photo.

Service Learning Coach Jérémie Rostan speaks to the retreat's participants in the YIS conference rooms.

More precisely, we practiced how to guide and support our peers through the service learning cycle: investigation (engaging with stakeholders), preparation (developing solutions), action (including advocating communicating the issue to our community), and finally reflection. 

In the reflection stage, we were able to apply this learning to our own experience this year and think critically about how we could improve our leadership and teams in the coming year. I am part of a CAS project called Max Help: Myanmar, which will become an official service learning team next school year. On February 1, 2021, Myanmar's military took over the government in a coup, causing ongoing protests. Due to the high-security risks and an unwillingness to support the regime, students have not been able to attend school in person. We participate in weekly Zoom calls with Burmese students from a partner school in Myanmar, giving presentations to each other on diverse topics to learn about our respective cultures and circumstances.  It is one of their few opportunities to speak English and interact with the outside world.

Retreat participants collaborate with Elementary School Service Learning Coach, Larissa Sears, to gain perspective on leadership styles.

Student leaders in break-out sessions during the leadership retreat.

Something that I personally learned that I had not previously considered in depth was how important it is to trust your team. Being a leader does not mean doing all the work or simply giving instructions, which I have heard was an obstacle for several of my student-leader peers. The team is there because they want to be, and they care about the service - the leaders’ job is to guide them to take initiative.

Though admittedly nervous about moving into the leadership role of Max Help: Myamnar in the next school year, this retreat was undoubtedly helpful in settling the qualms I had. We were also able to ask senior service leaders as well as the Student Leadership Team about their experiences as leaders, after which I feel significantly more prepared and confident - especially knowing I have a plethora of people with lots of experience that I can go to for support. I’m growing and learning to become a good leader, so I can guide others to grow themselves.