Gandhi's impact on the world is undoubtedly one of the most astounding movements in human history. Through peaceful protest, Gandhi was able to break India free from the bonds of the English, giving India their independence. This grant feat, though awe-inspiring, is only outdone by the wisdom and inspiration that he passed through his actions and speeches. Many of his quotes are not stated in various locations today in a variety of situations. For me, there are two quotes that I heard as a child that I took to heart and live by now. The first is "you must be the change you want to see in world." This quote says a lot about a person and the importance of their personality. This quote shows that no matter what kind of change you want, a change in yourself, whether it be personality or mannerism, it is essential in order for your cause to be taken to light. Your personality in the end is what will make or break your cause. The second quote that I take to heart I heard more recently. This quote is "Nobody can hurt me without my permission." This quote showed that I am in control of me and that no one can change how I feel or effect my life if I do not allow it. In the end, the outcomes of my life is dependent on my actions, not on those of other people. This became important because at one point in my life, my emotion was very dependent on the people who were in my life. I realized that I should be the only person who should have that power.

However, there are still areas in which I need improvement. The area in which most work is needed is the seeing the good in people. As Gandhi said, "I look only to the good qualities of men. Not being faultless myself, I won't presume to probe into the faults of others." At many points, it is hard to over look the bad and just look at the good. Being a leader and being a human, however, requires that I not only look at the negatives of the person and also see the person for the good that they have done and the good that they can do. If one only looks at the negatives, you are only looking at half the person, not the whole.

All of these points put forth in this blog entry is very essential in developing as leader. This is because these points help to make people a more receptive leader and allows for you to be a role model and lead by example instead of following someone else's dream. Gandhi was one of the greatest activists and leaders in the world and learning from his wisdom will develop your leadership ability and allow for you to make an impact on someones life, just as he did.

The Optimist Creed I feel is a set of examples of how to be optimist rather than an actual creed. This is because everyone has their own way of being optimistic, and have not heard the creed. For example, I consider myself to be an optimistic person but I touch slightly on these promises. The one that I absolutely agree with is "To forget the mistakes of the pass and press on to the greater achievements of the future." I find this important because it shows progress. To wallow in the past is a waste of the present. The past is past, there is nothing that can be done to change this. However, the present is still open and your actions to influence it can cause changes regardless of your mistakes in the past. However, I do not believe that growth is necessary for my optimism. As I stated before, I believe that optimism changes based on different people. One person's idea of optimist could simply be too much for another person. I believe that my level of optimism is the perfect amount for me.

I find the quote "if you look for what you can learn from problems and failures, you'll be looking at the sunny side. More important, you'll on your way to making your optimism come true" to be very true. This is because your mistakes are not just mistakes. A mistake or a fault is just one stepping stone to what is right. A mistake doesn't mean you did it wrong, but you are closer to what you meant to be. A mistake is just faulty thinking. Everyone makes mistakes and an error just means that you are human. Learning from your mistakes makes you all the wiser and allows for you to live life to its fullest, with all the faults and problems.

As a leader, I will be a RA over the course of next year. Over the summer, I am hoping to obtain an internship at a hospital and develop more leadership skills. My source of role model would be my parents. They are always there to support me and always want the best for me. There is no one better on this Earth than them. To motivate others, I use encouragement and motivational arguments. Through rational argument and persuasion, I am able to motivate people to do more and more.

The article "18 Truths to Start Telling Yourself" is nothing new but in many cases, it is hard to swallow. This is because it is easier for us to see the negatives rather than the positives. Our focus on ourselves is not of importance, rather it is secondary to many. Our lives are lived worrying about everyone else but ourselves and because of this, we are put in an awkward predicament where our personal needs are disregarded. Tell yourself these truths allows for us to embrace that we are but humans and that we ourselves are amazing people. I feel like these statements reflect many of the lessons that I have learn through the various mistakes that I have made or advice that I was given. I feel my strengths are be that "broken promises destroy relationships" and "everything, good or bad, is a life lesson". These resonate most with my personality and the person I am. Through experience with various types of relationships, I have found that lies are the most effective way to end any relationship where as honesty builds trust. Secondly, the good and the bad both make up life. To think of the bad as just that and nothing more is missing half of life's experience. Seeing everything as a lesson allows for every moment to be appreciated. The area in which I need the most improvement is that "a few real friends are all I need". I frequently deal with this issue because I do not want people to have a negative connotation of me. With that being said, that are cases when I try too hard to impress everyone. As they stated, it is much healthier to have a few close friends that accept me for me.

Similarly, the article "15 Ways to live, and Not Merely Exist" had many inputs that reflected lessons learned from prior instances. These tips are essential in life because they allow for you to live life to the fullest and not just cruise along. When i reflect, these no longer come to mind. This is because I have learn to incorporate many of these into my every day route. As events happen, many of these tips are embedded into me. However, the tip to "choose to listen to your inner voice" I partially disagree with. This is because in some cases, living your life to the fullest means taking risks, risks that you otherwise would not have attempted. To be able to live life to the fullest, you must attempt things regardless of the odds. You will be more haunted by what you didn't attempt than by your shortcomings.

The video project is coming along very well. I find the idea very clever and I am excited to see our work come to life. This is going to be a huge success for us. My opinion on STARS LEAD is that it has been a wonder experience. It has taught me a lot about being a social justice advocate and way that I can help out the community. It has far surpassed my expectation. STARS LEAD has also pushed me to take several leadership roles on campus to help and unity our communities. I would like to see more social justice work actually being done however, rather than talking about it.

The article "Finding Your Power" I felt was under spoken. This is because many of these ideas are rather textbook examples and the author does not go in dept with his response. However, it was short and to the point, which gave the article more of a direct feel. The article talked about owning up to your lives and mistakes to be a leader. I feel that his point, though cliche, did hit home on showing the ideal leader's ability. Personal, I avoid making excuses because of my belief in honesty. This is that I expect others to be honest in what they say and do and as a result, act in accordance to my belief. I feel that this is essential at times because it shows that one is able to own up to the deeds that they have done, both good and bad. It shows character to be able to own up to mistakes. To invoke others to stop making excuses, I would lead by example. The best way to convince someone to do something is to show them the positives of it yourself.

The article "The Do's and Don'ts of Being a Good Ally" I felt was a very important piece. Much of the information that is given is very essential in being an ally of other races and cultures. These points are essential because they express how to not be self centered and how to be an ally without appearing fake. With all honesty, I believe this is very essential. A genuine ally is someone who supports and shows no prejudice towards a race or culture, putting time and effort into understanding their beliefs and struggles without the attitude that you are a better person. I would say my biggest strength would be to "shut up and listen", not because I have nothing to say, but because there are points that it is not essential for me to talk but to listen. Listening allows for me to make better conversations as well as learn more about a group of people. An area that I require work is research. In many cases, I do not read up on the topic that I will be attending or listening to. This gives me the feeling that I am unprepared and not ready. I believe that this is essential to do however so you can break all preconceived notions of people prior to talking to them. Being an ally is essential in forming new bonds. Not just bonds like friendships but bonds like with different cultures. Being an ally encourages tolerance and acceptance of others and shows people that behavior and speech that belittles people is unacceptable.

Scholarships are one of the most important assets to obtain prior and during your college experience. They allow for everything from your tuition to laptops to books to be paid for. These scholarships though are highly competitive and require essays and various other profile things about one's self. One way in which students can enhance their application is to attend and join more activities that occur at their school. The more they partake in, the strong and more they can write about. Life experience is very essential in applying for scholarships. We can encourage them to participate more and do more in the school. We can appeal to their sense of need and school spirit and show them how that mere participation can accomplish enough to win them several more scholarships. I feel that scholarships are essential towards social justice because I believe that education is the first step towards a word that is all excepting. By gaining scholarships, students will be able to further their education and be able to break prejudices and begin forming a more perfect society.

I feel this song is pretty important. It shows breaking bonds and growing to be something against all odds.

How much is a child's education worth? How do you determine who is able to obtain these excellent programs and educations and who gets the scraps? You don't. As noted in the movie Waiting for Superman, education is the key to success. The most prominent men of our generation agrees that a well educated society results in a better future. This topic is very sensitive to me being raised in a failing school system that has such a low retention rate in public schooling. But, who do we look up to when we as a people make no attempt to change what is provided to us. This movie, did not surprise me, more so that it enraged me and upset me. Those looking to provide a better future and looking to change the lives of their children; their ability depends on their income. But schools in low income areas are to par at best. Many suffer with funding and perform poorly due to this. There are several ways out; the first way is through private school and the second is charter school. The private school, though it may be high performing, has a high cost in order to attend. The charter school, though is not independent requiring large amount of money, requires a lottery in order to enter. So where does this put us? We are left in a state where students have a change at success. The biggest advocacy group that supports this would be the teacher's union. The biggest barrier to change is this idea of tenure. Tenure causes teachers not to be able to be fire due to their contract. However, poorly performing school officials are kept because they are given tenure. This, though fair to some teachers, are harming the education system. The poorly performing school officials, whether it be a principal or a teacher, are kept and swapped rather than replaced. The protection should not be for teachers but for students. The students should be more important that one teacher's job. This is a very pessimistic way to put it but it is the truth. A teacher should not be held on to because of a word, they should be held on to and given praise do to performance.

The most inspiration quote I have ever heard came from this movie; it said "..I was crying because no one was coming with enough power to save us." This quote is powerful in showing the lack of power that we have in changing a world. If Superman were to rescue these students, I feel he would still be lacking in ability to change the system in which all students have a chance to succeed and match the wits of other regions of the world. This says a lot, showing one of the most powerful superheroes would not be able to change a education system. This is because the education system in all of America is scattered. The federal government set standards in which the state government overlaps with their own ideals. This dispersed method of educational services makes it difficult for any single person to make a lasting difference. However, in several Superman comics, he is able to speak to the nation or a group of people as a whole to change their ways. This is what Superman can do; convince the people that change is necessary in order to improve what we have.

To me, there are numerous reasons to explain why students lack in performance. The top reason's I came up with are influence, parental backup, and teachers. First off, with the idea of influence, many students in low income areas do not have inspirational figures to look up to. In many cases, the people around them are gang affiliated and/or in jail. This takes a toll on a child when he sees that everyone around him/her are in jail and start thinking less of themselves. With parents, education first begins with them. If a parent does not push their child to succeed and to do better, then there is no expectation put on them. A parent's guidance to do well means all the difference because in the end, parents are who the kids trust the most. It does not even need to be a long conversation. Children just need to know that what they are doing matter and that their effort has payoff and can make their parents proud. A quick chat in the morning or at night is all it takes. Finally, teachers. Students can only get as much as the teacher put in. Students learn different from one another and to say "I get paid whether or not you learn" is like saying I don't care. A teacher's job should include patience and determination, not to get the paycheck, but to teach.

What we can do to improve this situation? Grass root organizations and talking to big unions or interest groups. The first step is electing the right officials that will get the job done and are not afraid of blow back. Change is possible if your opinion is heard.

I constantly find myself saying "I have too much too lose." What am I talking about? Everything that doesn't require a risk isn't worth the effort. To to say that I have too much to risk is the equivalent as Martin Luther King Jr. or Gandhi saying they have too much to risk to take a stand and and ask for change. All change starts with a risk and as the article "12 Lies to Stop Telling Yourself" says, you will be more happy about your successes then what you lost in the end. However I feel hypocritical while expressing this opinion. Though I know better, I still tend to act quite the opposite. However, I am working to change this by taking up more risks and doing more in order to push myself and do things that I would normally not do. What is life if you don't live it? This information can be used to help people because it will encourage them to do more. Specifically, this can beneficial specifically to students. These doubts on ability and doubts on efficiency hinders education and causes a student to doubt their ability to perform. A student can perform well against all odds if they put forth a large amount of effort and is willing to work to obtain what they want.

The meeting that transpired was much needed for me. After a long stressful week, winding down and just chatting and drawing and writing was the perfect way to begin my break. But more than that. I believe that everyone writing something positive down on the paper was the perfect way to stoke everyone's ego and make everyone feel amazing about themselves. Because the most important person that praises another person is themselves. If someone thinks highly of themselves and believes they can succeed, there is nothing in the world stopping them from reaching their goals.

After reading "10 Ways Happy People Choose Happiness", there were some reminders and some intriguing information. The bit that struck me as most odd was the segment on "Choose to take care of your body." Though I currently already do, I found this most hard to swallow. I really didn't believe it so I had to check it out; online of course. Turns out, there is satisfaction and the ability to maintain happiness through exercising. For me, what I focus on is "Choose to be the best you can be". This is absolutely crucial in my life. Being a role model to my brother and those younger than me, I find that if I am not the best me that I can be, people can pick up on it. Furthermore, being the best that I can be allows for me to take on many more endeavors and further my various roles through dedication and hard work. In my journey, I partake in many challenges, both big and small. My biggest challenge would be to take on leadership roles. These roles require work and dedication and are very trying at times. However, the payoff of being a leader is fulfilling and can often influence someone's life. What makes me happy, in the literal sense, I would say, is helping others. Other's success and happiness through effort that I put forth gives me the most satisfaction and happiness. Knowing that I helped someone and made a difference means all the difference to them and why not live and help others?

For the rest of the semester, I plan on living in the future and not looking back. I may have suffered a few failures and have room for improvement here and there, but living in the past will not change that, only moving forward can progress be made. What I will embrace is smiling more. Though I smile a good amount, there is never too much smiling. Plus, smiling can always put you back in a good mood.

My e-potfolio. Yeah... That needs a lot more work to say the least. However, the capstone project, I would propose that we video tape maybe a quick briefing of each person and then record or put photos of our meetings or helping others.

SPRING BREAK. This was an amazing weekend. First off, I attended my conference in Ohio. The topic was food and its relation to history; quite a fascinating topic. I had several engaging days with acquaintances and enjoyed a relaxing day with my best friend. So to sum up my spring break, it was food, games, travel, and friends; pretty much just as I wanted.

My plan for summer would be probably a road trip over to either Florida or California. It is going to be just time for good friends to kick back and relax, enjoy the warm air and beaches and get that much needed rest.



Love this song. One of the best songs about living life.

Meditation is looking within and finding yourself; it is soul-search and coming out refreshed and renewed. I believe, as my quote says, that mediation is exploring within yourself. Meditation can just be reflecting on your day or just clearing your mind. From the article "Why we find it hard to meditate", what I found shocking was that one cannot fail at meditating. Even if one's mind is not clear during the process, you can still achieve in meditation. This is because, as they say, there is no special method in meditation. Everyone's method of meditation may be different and may feel different but in the process, can achieve similar results; inner peace. What I learned is that even if my mind is not quiet when I meditate, it is normal and does not effect your meditation. As they said, three hundred thoughts can manifest in your mind in the span of ten minutes of meditation. Ah, the wonders of the human mind. I do meditate. Not frequently or on a schedule. I meditate whenever I feel stress or have a problem I need to figure out. I do this during these specific period because they give me peace of mind a clarity that I otherwise cannot obtain.

"What can the rhythm and flow of a pendulum teach us about balance and personal growth" is an absolutely inspiring. It is an absolutely accurate description of life and its natural, that in the end, it will all balance out. We constantly swing from extremes, from happiness to sadness. But no matter what happens, the universe has a way to keeping everything balanced. This relates to my life because I follow this belief, that even through my toughest challenges, I can persevere through because I know that things will lighten up in the end. For me, in order to maintain a balance in my life, I require planning and working ahead. This is because with both, it allows me to not stress and gives me extra time to relax and keep calm in the future instead of feeling trapped. Another activity I do to keep my balance is to see my friends. Though it may seem like just a normal hang out with buddies, me seeing my friends allows for me to blow off some steam and let loss. This reduces my tension and for me to focus more afterwards. Since my arrival at Loyola, my biggest change is planning. I like to make sure I have time to accomplish a task and keep a calendar. This is important to me because without it, my life feels chaotic. What I will be improving in the future is my priorities. Prior to stressful event, whether it be a test or a date or just talking to someone new, I have a good amount of time where I am worried and nervous but do nothing to benefit myself. I believe that I can improve this by working so that I can accomplish tasks rather than worry. Prepping for a duty is better than worrying.

Time: there has been so much said about it. Philosophers have spend portions of their lives defining it and scientists have made attempt on changing it. But if it was a tangle thing. The saying "seize the moment" for example. What if every accomplishment or failure you encounter is what makes time exist. And each event that we choose to participate in the minutes and seconds of our day. Who's to say it isn't? What is time to someone who does nothing? The quote by W.E.B. DuBois is very interesting. He metaphorically compares time to a seed, something that will grow and bear fruit. I feel like this is possible. Each day, we plant a "tree" for each of our actions and we taste the "fruit" of the outcome in the long run. If this is so, then one should live life to the fullest. The gain the sweetest fruit for your labor, take advantage of each day and lay nothing to waste.




This song gets me through a lot. Make everything seem like it's possible.

"Explaining the Inequalities in Chicago"-After watching, I was annoyed. I was rather startled by the statistical amount of student who struggle or who are pushed aside in Chicago alone. They hit two very keynote when talking about the teachers lack of support and pay. Though this is true, I also wonder, do all teachers teach for the right reason. For example, I've heard "I don't get paid enough for this." Those are the first words of ignorance. Not paid enough for what? Proving a future to children? Developing our students to lead us? Though education is considered a blessing, it cannot also be seen as a chore. Quality education comes from teachers that are willing to put in the extra effort and to provide a solid education. The second point that was brought up was parents. As stated in the video, the period between 3-5, which is also the period right after kids are released, are the most dangerous for kids to remain unattended. Though it may be difficult for parents to constantly be present in the child's life, it is still beneficial to have an idea of where children go after school and their friend. Taking in interest and talking to your child makes all the difference in their lives and what they choose to do and who they choose to be. It all comes down to what kind of role model are you to your children?

"Louder That a Bomb: High School Training Ground"-When I heard this I was amazed. Not by anything he said in particular but by what he said as a whole. It is amazing seeing a spawn of CPS, someone who struggled with the system talk about its downfalls. Why? You can hear a lot about the education system being terrible and our children's futures fading away, but the reality doesn't hit us till we see it for ourselves on the face of a student. What he did was absolutely bold, taking a solid stand against the education system of Chicago. The biggest point that he pointed out to me was the idea of preset destinies. He mentions why he should try if he is only going to get locked up or fail. The fact we have these ideas embedded into out students should be a huge indicator that that is a huge problem with our education system. Why not teach our children to do better rather than teaching them how to not succeed.

Inspiration: How Bad Do You Want It?-It's funny because I was a business/leadership seminar/conference and this exact thing played, except in espanol. Same basic principle and with football as the reference too. But I found this video inspirational. How do we expect success in whatever we do if we don't put our hearts in to everything we do. Success is but a state of mind. There is no secret to it, just effort. this video shows all that can be with some determination. Why do we expect success when we put forth the littlest of efforts. We get what we put forth, nothing more nothing less. Leadership, education, everything is just like sports. With practice, we get better. With determination, we can always succeed.

So, Amundsen High School coming to Loyola. Im pretty stoked. It gives me an opportunity to enlighten these kids on college life and the college experience. I am a little nervous on what to say and how much of my experience I should censor. I'm also worried on how much of what I say they will actually take in. Hopefully, what we say as a group will not fall on deaf ears and they will be able to take from our experiences.

So closing remarks. We should focus on living and bettering the world in ways that will improve everyone's means of life. Whether that be education or through leadership, we should give it our all, and improve anything we can.

This weeks blog is going to be very serious because it touches on a topic very near and dear to me. This idea of the "school-to-prison pipeline" is not new too me though the term is. This immense racial injustice that is present in the public schools today have been sickening and hard to watch. Throughout my educational career, I have been a spawn of the CPS school system. Because of this, I am very aware of the problems that go on with the system. After reading the article "Locating the School-To-Prison Pipeline", I was not shocked or appalled. This is because all these ideas and implementation I have witnessed prior to our last session. It just reminded me of how many children suffer and the challenged of being a minority or a student of color or even just a student in an low income area. This is also very similar to the "Black Makes, Black Dreams" documentary that we viewed during our session. From what I saw in the video, I was disappointed. There is so much potential in each human but because of social standards and inequalities, we have preset ideas that do no give people a chance based on their identity.
So it's time for a story.
Once upon a time, a boy; for confidentiality sake, lets call him...X, was accepted into Lane Tech. X was a 5'5 Hispanic who lived in the southside of Chicago. At this time, I was working for the school as a Freshman Mentor, whose duties were to assist students with their transition into high school from grade school. So X ended up being in my group of freshman and we all had our laughs and giggles. However, whenever in class, X would argue back with the teachers and cause a scene. After a week of this reckless behavior, the teacher pulled me aside saying this: "If X does something else, take him to the office and send him home." But of course, X that day is feeling extra snappy and talks back to the teacher. So I call him out and tell him to follow me. As we walk, I ask him "Hey bro, is everything alright?" He replies, "Yeah." I follow up asking "so... then what's up with that classroom business?" He looks away, and tells me about his school and his parents and his community. He told me about how his teachers told him that he would not amount to anything and that his parents were never there and that his friends all were either selling drugs or in a gang. Then came the part I will never forget. He says "I know I won't be successful so why should I care?" I turned around and he says "Where are you going?" I tell him "taking you back to class." He says, "Why? I thought I got kicked out." I tell him something I hope that he won't forget. "You're worth a lot more than you think. You can give up and I wouldn't blame you. You've been through a lot. But people don't make you into what you are, you do." Now, X is a junior with a 3.7 GPA and in various clubs, with a bright future ahead of him.

As a STARS Leader, there is much I can do to help. First off, there are various schools and facilities that require aid in tutoring and education the minority or the unprivileged. Another way in which I can attempt to address this issue is through petition to the mayor and city council. There has been word that there will be pay cuts and loss of sick days. There is also word of a disbandment of the teacher's union, which would allow for teachers with tenure and teachers with seniority to be overlooked. With all this chaos in the education system, how are students expected to learn? Only though social change and demands of the population will we be able to induce a change among the schools. "Kids are our future" but if we continue to discriminate, our future appears to be bleak at best. Servant leaders are what is necessary in order for change. If I am to attempt to make a difference, i will have to lead by serving. By listening to others problems and placing their concerns on top of mine, I can help to make change through servant leadership.

The empowerment pipeline will offer me the ability to develop my servant leadership abilities, but one in particukar: empathy. In hearing about struggles, I can place myself in their position, in their pain, and help them in a way that I would not be able to otherwise.

As a spawn of CPS, I am anxious to get to know these students. I want to know about their struggles and problems and their expectations of school and college life. I feel nervous because I want to appear as a role model and as a scholar. I want to be as helpful to them as they need. I am very happy that we will be interacting with actual students and that we can share our experiences as a college student and as ex-high school students with them.

This blog was really heavy, so we are going to end on a lighter note! A quote that I love!

This quote by Martin Luther King Jr. was said during one of his many speeches. He was one of the most recognized leaders in social justice. He followed the mindset of Gandhi, this idea of a peaceful protest during a time when Malcolm X and the Black Panthers advocated rising up in arms. Though he was not the first and perhaps not the most important, his social movement sparked a spur of changes following his death.

This quote related to my leadership cause this is what I believe. When leading towards a cause, through all the prejudice or disagreement, what stands in the end is love. This can be a love for the goal or for the nation or even just love for humanity. This quote shows that rash movements are not always the way to go. The love of an idea can bring forth more change then guns ever will.

I though that cartoon was clever. But it also portrays an important subject: social justice. Social justice revolves around the idea of equality and understanding of the values of everyone. It is solidarity between all groups of people. The idea of social justice stems from, obviously, oppression. Social justice is essential in order for the world to get along. During trying times, equality among all reduces the amount of discrimination and promotes society working as a whole towards a higher goal.

I thought the Servant Leadership workshop was very informative to say the least. Prior to this, I would have had no idea of what that phrase even meant. I thought our speaker was very informative and his approach to teaching was very engaging and allowed for me to fully submerge into the idea.

In regards to servant leadership, I believe I possess: listening, empathy, awareness, conceptualization, commitment to the growth and people, and building community. This is just from the list that I received from the workshop. I believe that though I possess these traits, I should still work on them further to develop myself as a leader and as a person. There is never a point when a person is perfect, but we should always strive for perfection. Contradictory but true. Traits in which I plan to obtain were persuasion and foresight. These traits are very essential in being a servant leader. To convince people to do something allows them the choice to not do it unlike through mere power. This is important because a servant leader puts the people first, allowing for them to take priority. The other, foresight, is essential because it allows for me to learn from my mistakes instead of just throwing myself a "pity party". Learning from errors can help aid in situations in the future.

My dream job. That would to become a neurosurgeon far far in the future. Through this career path, I will merely be servicing the people. This is my ideal job because of my love of biology nurtured by my caring personality. I will aid people from illness and put delicate care to each patient.

It's Superbowl so got to end this with a bang!

STARS LEAD has given me the opportunity to develop and polish on leadership qualities that I wish to ascertain or currently have. Because of this, I believe that the STARS program is essential and a great benefit in my goal of becoming a leader. STARS LEAD has also allowed me to have that support to do things that I otherwise would not have had the nerve to do. By the end of the end of the program, I hope to have developed many new skills and have many leadership opportunities open up for me. I also hope, most of all, I develop my public speaking skills as well as my ability to maintain a intellectual yet engaging conversation. At the moment, I would be considered a shy speaker. I don't particularly enjoy speaking in front of crowds or people I do not know. When I do, I tend to fidget or tap my feet. I also try not to make direct eye contact and every now and then i stutter. Hopefully, I will be able to change that and take the initiative to become less of a feeble speaker. Our first stars meeting, in my opinion, was very interesting. Not that we had a lot to say on the first day other then the outline of the program and our requirements, I did enjoy meeting and developing friendships. I think that these things are very essential in the future. Networking that is. One never knows if the person they meet will connect you to your dream job!

The definition of leadership... now, that's tough question. Leadership is being able to take responsibility of task with their integrity. Leader chooses opinions that does not necessarily benefit themselves but benefits the group as a whole. They have a sense of humility and able to make changes when they are wrong. Leaders must be trusted or there is no one willing to be lead. Leaders are strong individuals that others can relay on.

This semester, I hope to have successfully accorded a job and making money to pay off debts. I also hope to have applied to at least 3-5 internships for over the summer. I also hope to improve my grabs and also, improve my overall performance with chemistry. its sounds rather tough for me at the moment but with a lot of work, all of these goals are obtainable.

This quote by Martin Luther King Jr. is a very inspirational part of his speech. It talks about the importance of leadership in starting a movements. He says that a movement do not occur due to unfortunate circumstance, but occurs because of struggle and taking the initiative to go the extra mile.

On to the E-portfolio presentation. I thought that the presentation was absolutely eye opening to me. I was absolutely unaware that I had this ability to create such an amazing portfolio at my disposal. I learned just about everything from how to change the layout all the way to sorting through documents to decide what to use in a presentation to a job or community service group. I guess for me, I would like to highlight my experiences as being a leader and my various experiences in lab environments or in biology. This is essential because it would help fodder my future career choice.

Why is it important to serve others as a leader? Because being a leader gives you a large amount of power. And to dust of a old chestnut, "with great power comes great responsibility". As cheesy as this quote is, it is true. A leader who is not socially responsible and thinks solely of themselves does not lead because the whole group is not intact. A cohesive group is needed for a leader to actually "lead".

I am most passionate about friendship. I believe that this is very important in life and that without it, one could not be who they are. They model you to who you are today. This relates to leadership because in many instances where the friendship is tested, one must be the leader to try and mend the problem. Or know when they are wrong. Though a relationship is a cooperative effort, more likely than not, there is a leader who supports the friendship.

I'll end with a song about friendship and guidance.

So who am I? I'm Willie Ho. I am a Chicagoan and absolutely proud of it. I am an under spoken person.