Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time.
The Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) looked to be the Lehman Brothers of Lynbrook High, a “too big to fail” organization on the brink of failing. For the past three years, the budget had bled red and membership had fallen rapidly. This year, I took command of this sinking ship.
As co-president, I defined a three-pronged strategy to not just stabilize, but grow our club. With the introduction of a new state law that prevented us from collecting mandatory fees, membership dues became an unreliable source of funding. I had to find alternative sources of revenue. Upon discovering there was a vast, untapped supply of grants available to us, I created a new Grant Chair position and worked closely with him to pursue these opportunities. In the few months since the school year started, we have already secured over $1300 in grants.
With this infusion of funding, I decided to overhaul and expand our outdated resources database, a collection of textbooks and online tools that members could use to prepare for competitions. These member-focused investments were effective both at engaging students through better resources and stemming the loss of members.
Lastly, we pushed hard to enhance our brand across both the school and the community. I forged partnerships with other organizations to increase our campus presence. Speaker events that were once solely for FBLA members were opened to other clubs, and a new stock competition will be held jointly with the school’s other two business clubs. These new initiatives were highly successful and contributed to an unprecedented 20% growth in membership.
Being co-president has had an enriching impact on me. I have learned that leading means being a visionary who sets goals and executes a plan to reach them. I have found leadership to be not only a challenging process of trial and error, but also a rewarding experience of learning and discovery. My leadership has influenced one of the largest clubs on campus, and we are on track to make this a milestone year.
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