Taking the lead
Four students talk about their responsibilities as leaders in sports and clubs
Q: Why did you choose to become a captain?
For me, I didn’t necessarily choose it, I just grew into the
role. I learned a lot from the seniors my freshman year, so
when they left, I was able to step up and fill their shoes and
reiterate what they had told me to the other players coming
onto the varsity team.
Q: What have you done/what do you do as a leader?
As a captain, it’s your job to make sure everyone knows what
they’re doing and that you’re all on the same page. It’s also
your job to call out others if they’re doing something wrong
and explain to them how to do it the right way. Lastly, just
communicating and checking up on your teammates and
making sure they’re okay.
Q: How would you define being a leader?
To me, being a captain and a leader just means setting an
example for others and making sure everyone’s doing their
part to make the team the best it can be. On our team, we
have multiple captains who step up and make sure everyone
knows what they’re doing. A lot of people think you’re given the title of captain, but in reality it’s whoever steps up and takes charge first.
Q: Why did you choose to become a captain?
I didn’t exactly choose to be the captain of the volleyball team.
It was definitely something that just happened as the season
went along. I think that my willingness to help out and be a
voice on the court for the team helped solidify the choice from
my teammates. I love the Annandale team and I really enjoy
playing with the girls.
Q: What have you done/what do you do as a leader?
As a leader on the team, I help teach the freshman skills on
and off the court. A big part of off the court work is how to
properly score a game, which in volleyball is a complicated
task that has to be done quickly and accurately. I do my best
to learn all of the girls’ names on all three teams and work
to get a sense of friendship throughout the whole program.
Every year, I also help to organize the senior night and the
Dig Pink night.
Q: How would you define being a leader?
A leader is someone who works towards making the group
better as a whole. A leader should take into account multiple
opinions and do their best to make everyone feel important
and heard. The best leaders are the best listeners.
Co-President of Just World Interact
Q: Why did you choose to become a president?
I didn’t necessarily choose to become a co-president, but since
I was one of the only current members who was an officer
last year, it was just given to me. My co-president Grace and
I were glad to accept the roles though because we are both
extremely passionate about Just World and creating peace in
the world.
Q: What have you done/what do you do as a leader?
I have been in charge of helping to create a presentation for
each meeting and keeping up with our Google Classroom
and Remind app. Depending on whether we do our annual
festival or not, I would also be mainly be responsible for most
of the organization of it. As a leader in general, I try my best
to help our club become aware of what is going on in our
world and how we can all be better global citizens.
Q: How would you define being a leader?
Being a leader requires a vast range of skills such as
communication, time management, being a good listener and
open mindedness. It isn’t about having control or power over
people. It’s about working with others to guide and motivate
them to create positive changes.
Co-founder and chair of the Equity Team
Q: Why did you choose to become a president?
I decided to co-found and become one of the student chairs
of Annandale’s Equity Team because I knew I could help
Jimmy Le, the other founder and student chair, in our goal to
implement equity and change current systems in our school
to be more equitable. I also wanted to give students a place to
speak about issues that are kept quiet and not talked about
enough. Hopefully, we can start to actually put action into
our words and do something about those issues we’ve been
discussing over the past few weeks.
Q: What have you done/what do you do as a leader?
I help organize the big group meetings, email teachers and
admin, attend all committee meetings, provide support to
other student committee chairs, as well as continuously
educate myself so I can best support all the committees of our
equity team.
Q: How would you define being a leader?
I think I would define being a leader as someone who brings
people together and who continues to motivate and listen to
the people around them
Senior Vivian Phan is in her third year of journalism as an In-Depth Editor. She was previously a staff writer and People Editor. She participates in Green...
