There is a famous quote from William Shakespeare’s The Twelfth Night that says “Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” Although throughout my life I have taken pride in my work ethic and teamwork, I was certainly not a natural born leader. I was particularly introverted and even timid when I was younger, so despite the fact that I always got the job done, I never waswas never one to take control and lead a group.

This all changed, however, when I was asked to assist in coaching the youth hip hop team for at my dance company. Because one of the usual coaches was unable to make the early-afternoon practices, I was asked to take over her position, which required me to not only keep a group of about 30 elementary-aged children under control, but also to teach them skills and dance moves that they would need in order to master for their routinetheir routine. Admittedly, I wasn’t sure coaching was a position I was ready to take on. Taking command of a group of kids and then actually getting them to learn something seemed to be a task that majorly surpassed the limits of my comfort zone. After much consideration, though, I agreed to try, simply because I was honored to be offered the position at all.

I would be lying if I said that it wasn’t a struggle and a learning process. I quickly found out that if you want to get a group of people to take you seriously, you have to be confident and creative in not only capturing their attention, but maintaining it. Surprisingly enough, I was far more successful than I ever would have dreamed. After just a few weeks of practice, I grew to be comfortable leading the team and teaching them new things. In fact, after 10 months of hard work and practice, the team even won first place in their division at Cheersport Nationals in Atlanta, Georgia.

Although I may not have been born a leader, I was one of the lucky few who had leadership thrust upon them, and I could not be more grateful for it. Since this experience, I have developed a tendency to seek out leadership positions. For instance, I now am am now the president of my school’s psychology club, where I make lesson plans and conduct a class every two weeks. I feel that both my natural ability to work as a team player and my acquired ability to lead a group will really help me to contribute to the UF community in many ways. From clubs, to classes, to study groups, I feel that my versatility will allow me to contribute to the success of any group I become involved in.