While in high school, I was elected as president of my senior class, an honor that was to require me to spend a great deal of time in activities that had relatively little to do with my academic work. School "politics" of this type can be, as noted by Hurwitz (22), both challenging and frustrating. While it is thrilling to be selected by one's peers as a leader, with leadership comes a great deal of responsibility that can consume an enormous amount of time that might be better spent in academic pursuits. Nevertheless, as senior class president I was able to make a small difference on some big issues and because of this, I feel that I gained more than I expected.
For example, we had a number of students in our class who were openly gay, lesbian or bisexual; they were often bullied by other students and wanted to form a club of their own and to be able to attend school dances with same-sex partners. I worked with this group and administration to create opportunities for this type of activity. I am proud that I was able to assist in overcoming some of the barriers that members of these groups faced. The other experiences of being a class president- organizing events, interacting and communicating with others, designing programs and making speeches - were also useful in preparing me to be more effective academically as well as personally.
Hurwitz, John. Class President. New York: HarperCollins, 2000.
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