My Superfather : An Influential Leader As A Grandfather

A great leader who I admire is Colin Powell. He was born on April 5th, 1937 to immigrant parents, Luther and Maud Powell, from Jamaica. He was raised in the south Bronx and graduated from Morris High School in 1954. While studying geology at a community college he decided to join into the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program. He graduated from the program in 1958 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He married his wife, Alma Vivian Johnson in 1962 and they have three children together.

A leader that I have always admired is Harriet Tubman. I admire her for her bravery, strength, dedication, and most importantly, her passion. After surviving a tough childhood, Tubman knew she couldn’t spend the entirety of her life suffering as a slave. When she found out about the Underground Railroad, she took action. Most people would’ve just saved themselves and their loved ones, but what I admire about Tubman is that even after she and her family were safe, she continued to make trips back to the South, leading hundreds of slaves to freedom. Although she was risking her life every single day, she never gave up because she knew she was saving lives. Harriet Tubman once said, “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you

There have also been people who have motivated me to be a leader, especially my high school orchestra director. At the end of my junior year, my director called me into his office and told me he would be moving me from the first violin section to the second violin section. He said he knew I was quiet in the back of the first violin section, but he could see I possessed the leadership skills necessary to sit in the front of the second violin section. This really motivated me to try and make him proud the next year at the front of the section. Many different aspects of my life have affected my leadership philosophy.

One of the leaders that influenced me significantly were president Ronald Reagan. President Reagan has done incredible works to make the U.S become much stronger nation. He found ways to create more jobs, reducing tax rates and signing the agreement with former Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev to end cold war.

Throughout history, there have been great leaders, some for the good of humanity, and some for the not-so good of humanity. The one element all leaders have in common is in some way, have changed the course of history. The one great leader I have found to be interesting and envision of a great leader is William Bradford, an original passenger on the Mayflower, and the first ever governor elected on what is to become, American Soil.

Leaders and heroes to me are people who don’t just think about themselves, but they think about who they are leading. A good leader takes everyone’s perspectives into account and does what they think is best for others, not themselves. Martin Luther King Jr. is one of my heroes. His life was threatened every day, but he kept leading the African American people. He did what he knew was going to help millions of people and he endangered his own life to do it. He knew what he wanted to do with his life, and he did it. People like Martin Luther King Jr. who contribute their verses to society are what good leadership looks like and he really inspires me.

My grandfather, Darl Schmidt, is a great leader. He served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War and he was part of the Navy Seabees. The Seabees are construction battalions who build things like airstrips, piers, and housing for soldiers. He was in charge of a crew while stationed in the Philippines during the Korean War. After his time in the Navy, he joined the VFW and helped with pancake breakfasts, setting up flags and much more. My grandfather also raised six children with the help of my grandmother. Our family has now grown to be over 50 people and all of this is because he is a great parent and

A leader that I respect is my big brother Corwin. Corwin has been an assistant captain or captain many times in his minor hockey career and was the captain for the Yorkton AAA Harvest and is now the captain for the Yorkton Terriers in the SJHL. My brother is just not a leader on the ice but he is off the ice too. I think he is a positive leader because he always sets a good example for me and others, he is very respectful and works as hard as he can no matter what it is. I find that he always is putting others before himself to help them or make them better and I think that is very noticeable and is a good skill to have. Corwin is very smart with the decisions he makes and is always doing the right thing, looking up to him as a younger sibling

Even after being begged not to move from the tiny apartment to Clybourne Park, an all white part of Chicago, the Youngers decided to move anyway. They decided to take the leap of faith and start a new life in a part of town where they knew they wouldn’t be welcomed with open arms. They knew that they weren’t going to get to their new house and see a gift basket on the front porch. The Youngers had courage though, and they took the chance.

From reading the article “Tips for Successful Students” I would have to say that my strongest characteristic that helped me become a successful student thus far has and will continue to help me is that I strive to be organized. I have often thought that I have Attention Deficit Disorder. Although I have not been clinically diagnosed with it, I truly believe I have it. I have also dealt with this disorder firsthand with my two sons.This has helped me be more empathetic towards them and others with the same issue. They have always had difficulties in school and at home, as I always did when I was a child. I too procrastinated, and lost focus in the matter of seconds. I always felt inadequate when it came to my education growing up. Through raising

John Quincy Adams once said, "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." This quote causes me to believe that a leader is not necessarily a director, they can be simply a person that is inspiring to be around. Some people may not even know that they are considered as leaders. I do know that I am considered as a role model by my peers. Being considered as a role model is an honor, that takes hard work, and a lot of patience. I achieved this honor by having the character and nature of a servant. The impacts that I have made with my character in school, at work, and in my community will enable me to be able to make a difference in college and beyond.

The first person that comes to mind when I think of a successful leader is my former choir teacher in the Catholic church. All of the students call her Mrs. Santos, she’s been in the industry of supervising and teaching children and young adults to sing for decades. Every person automatically respects her, and it’s because of the air of authority that she carries. I was initially petrified of that aspect because she seems strict but it turns out she’s a very kind woman.

For me losing a leader was losing my father. Yes, the years after that were tough some harder than others but the one thing and only thing I remember him saying to me was never quit, those two words have followed me in my life and the will forever follow me in my life. Most people assume that when I first tell them that when I lost my father at a young age they think that I will not be the person to give 100% and give my heart and soul to the cause.

A leader that I most admire is Oprah Winfrey. Oprah Winfrey is from a rural area in Mississippi. She was born to a teenage single mother. Her early years she was raised by her grandmother which she taught her how to read. She was then sent back to live with her mother. While in her mother’s care she was molested as a teenager by many family friends and male relatives. She became pregnant at the age of 14, the baby died shortly after birth. Shortly after she was sent to live with her father in Tennessee. Her father was strict on education and as a result she excelled as a student. Despite her up bring, Oprah did not give up. She went to college at Tennessee State University, where she studied communications. She begun working as a radio and

When we were together we were invincible, us against the world. I’d look up to him, not only because he was 6’4, but because he was my grandpa. I have clear memories of him picking me up from school, playing old school reggae music during our adventurous car rides. We’d always sing along to our favorites, sometimes turn the music up so loud the people in the cars next to us could hear it. When I would visit his apartment, the familiar smell of drywall and pennies would fill the air. It was my hideaway, my home away from home. My grandpa collected pennies in water jugs. He would say that one day they’d be worth more than just pennies. I loved it there, not only because he had a freezer filled with many flavors of ice cream to which he would often say to me “you can have all you can eat” but because it was our time to bond. For five years it was my mom, my dad, and my grandpa helping me to grow. Those are my favorite people, my role models. Being around my grandpa brought me such comfort and joy.