My Path to Leadership

 

During my first year at VMI, I certainly was taken aback by the vast complexity of the program and the implementation of being a follower so aggressively. The traditions of the school and the rat/dyke relationship certainly were a new experience to me. I was taken back at how much information I wanted to know vs how much my dyke knew. He was a very knowledgeable man and gave me the insight that I needed that would carry me through the next four years. The RATLINE made sure to push the lessons of “followership” and “self-leading” and that was certainly a great way to make sure that I knew to stay humbled and know my place at VMI in addition to making sure that I was leading myself to be the best follower I could (VMI Leader Journey, Pg 26). The best things I learned is that it pays to put the work in, the use of the Rat Bible and learning the required knowledge helped in making sure that I was prepared and was not embarrassed in front of my brother rats, and it showed them that I was putting in the effort to show them that I want to be there at VMI. As noted in the leadership book “Development level is the degree to which followers competence and commitment necessary to accomplish a given goal or activity (Blanchard et al., 2013). This is certainly true when applied to VMI and when we as brother rats come together as a class to breakout, as we push to be there for one another and make sure that we finish as a team and not as individuals.

Moving into my second year at VMI, the 3rd class year is the time that the sophomores come to “learn and strive to influence others” and make sure that the impact and influence are not only on ourselves but in setting a good example to the incoming Rat Mass (VMI Leader Journey, Pg 26). I had quite the experience between freshman and sophomore year, I did not really like it here, I was failing academically due to being forced to take computer science by my father, and I additionally wanted to go to another school, but this was my only choice. I tried leaving on my own, but the school would not allow it without my parent’s consent, I made the ultimate decision to fail my classes on purpose so I could be kicked out of the school. I was going through it, and with the 0.4 GPA for the spring semester, it showed. My cumulative dropped to a whopping 1.15. My only options after according to my father were to either to leave the house or go to summer school and redeem myself. I thought long and hard and made myself a life plan, and chose to take 15.0 credits to make myself come back to school. After deep reflection, I emerged with a new mindset and approach to how I would carry myself every day of my life. I came back to VMI with strong grades and currently am right now, I am going to graduate and become someone larger than myself. This year has certainly shown me that my abilities and skills have certainly been in my possession all my life, I just had to have the willpower to use them. This year has certainly become a strong year of self-encouragement and mental strength since the summer was a dark dark time for me. I am looking forward to walking into my Junior year with a chin held high and a finger ready for a class ring.

RAH 23′