Tell Your Story

Three Schuler Scholars Reflect on Goal-setting, Leadership and the Value of Friendships

  

              As part of the Summer College Program process, Scholars practice their personal narrative writing skills during the Scholar Training and Enrichment Program in their Sophomore year. Personal narratives give the writers complete power over how they choose to tell others who they are and their life story. How individuals choose to express themselves can be accomplished in many ways, especially through the facial expressions we make, the goals we set for ourselves, and how we relate with others.

  

              At Maine East High School, Sophomores Diana Huszti, Azra Murati, and Richa Parikh, began to explore how themes of identity, leadership and friendships have been challenged and enriched through their involvement in academics, sports, and the Schuler Scholar Program as part of writing their own memoir.

Choosing a Photo of yourself for your Memoir

Richa Parikh:

This is the photo I choose for my memoir and I chose it because I thought it truly captured myself deep in thought or dreaming off which represent my thoughtful, goal-oriented, and resilient nature. My expression, with my right eye partially closed and my eyebrows angled in, express my dreams and ambition for the future. Some of these dreams include being genuinely happy with my life and to me that means making an impact in the lives of people around me, or putting service above myself. I want to do this by being a leader in my community and having love and support from family as well as friends. The setting of this photo is also significant as it was taken on my high school football field mid marching band practice. This represents the importance of education and extracurriculars in my life that because of my peers and role models, make up much of who I am today.

Azra Murati:

My sister (on the left) and I (on the right) at her high school graduation this year.

I chose this photo because it represents two of my most prominent traits- I’m family-oriented and goal-oriented. I believe that the very setting of this photo represents my future goals and aspirations. I plan to achieve great things in my life, and I’m able to do this with support from my family and my own personal motivation. The constant support and motivation I receive from my family enables me to keep pushing forward. My siblings are especially significant in motivating me because they have proven that they believe in me more than anything and their success thus far inspires me to keep pushing forward. I also have a lot of personal motivation, which comes from knowing that I could achieve anything I set my mind to. I’ve always been especially focused on my education because I know in the long run that what I learn now will stay with me throughout my life, and the more educated I am, the more open I am to different opportunities and things to achieve what I define as success and happiness.

What does Leadership mean to you?

                When Schuler Scholars first enter the program after eighth grade, they spend ten days at Camp Manitowish in Boulder Junction, Wisconsin, where they develop leadership skills and build friendships with other Scholars. Even more than a year later, Richa and Azra find that the lessons in leadership they learned at camp have continued to empower them.

Richa: To me leadership is making an impact on your environment, whether that be your high school sports team or in the future your own company. A leader is someone who listens and communicates effectively with a moral standard and a positive attitude that motivates the people around them. Most of what I learned about leadership was through personal experience with sports and clubs as well as leadership camps/conferences. One time in my life that I learned much of what I know about leadership now was when I attended Camp Manitowish. I think the most important thing I learned there was that the best leaders are often times the ones who don’t know that they are, they’re the ones who listen while everyone speaks and keep a positive mindset when things get tough. These traits, as I’ve learned throughout my high school years, are important when being a leader of anything and were often times tested with the leadership roles I held my freshman and sophomore year, including being a freshman tennis captain and sophomore rotary club officer.

Azra: To me, leadership can be defined as having a positive influence on a group or organization, with the ability to guide people to achieve far past simply success. A leader is someone who keeps their ears and eyes open for all ideas, encourages others, and is looked upon as a positive role model. Everyone has a their own definition of a leader, and mine derived from not only my personal life experiences, but also different leadership opportunities I’ve been provided such as Camp Manitowish. Camp Manitowish was an experience that not everyone is given and I learned to cherish my time there. As a result of my time at Manitowish, I developed my own ideas about what I think a leader portrays: honesty, attentiveness, and motivation. A leader motivates others around them, pays attention to everyone, and provides the best insight for others so they could achieve success. I’ve been fortunate enough to grow up around many positive, true leaders like my siblings who only further inspire me to aim high and achieve my goals. Other experiences such as my involvement in sports test me with my leadership skills and this is where I can portray my own definition of a leader.

The Importance of Friendships

                At the Schuler Scholar Program, we like to ask everyone to perform their “Personal Best”. While it might be easy if our Personal Best was always possible to achieve, we also know that there are days when we need a little extra support and encouragement from the people around us.

Diana: Having someone there to support you and talk to you in something indescribable. We support one another when we aren’t feeling our best and challenge one another when we don’t have the same learning experiences.

Schuler Scholars understand that the requirements and high expectations of the Program mean they need to lean on each other when challenges arise. The support network they establish with each other is necessary for their success, not only as college-bound students, but also as life-long learners and leaders.

Richa: Being inspired by my friends in Schuler is something I feel almost every day. They never realize how much a small thing they say can positively impact me and make me remember that I am always the brightly motivate scholar who can do anything I put my mind to.