Organizations, Involvement, Leadership

HOSA, LEO Club, NHS? You’re probably thinking: what do these acronyms mean? These are organizations that have shaped my leadership experience in my high school career. These organizations have shown me different leadership aspects. HOSA, LEO Club, NHS have developed certain aspects of leadership, such as public speaking, organization, and planning meetings and other events.

Public speaking is a key requirement when involved in leadership roles within an organization. HOSA is a career oriented club called Health Occupations Students of America. LEO Club is a volunteerism club that stands for Leadership Experience and Opportunity. NHS is an honorary organization called the National Honor Society. In HOSA, I am now a state officer, serving as treasurer on the state executive council. As state advisor, I give speeches in front of members of HOSA at statewide events, like the Fall Leadership Conference, Mid-Winter HOSA, and the State Leadership Conference. In LEO club, I serve as an officer on the leadership team. I inform the members of LEO club of upcoming events and also the results of previous events at bi-weekly meetings. Organization is a recommended skill that is used in leadership roles.

In order to maintain knowledge of deadlines and events, I use my organizational skills. I carry a planner with me or at least a calendar in order to not lose track of my commitments. I keep binders with information about events, resources the organization can use, and information that I need to know. I keep a flash drive in order to have any computerized documents with me at all times. This is part of an organization process as well as a preparation process. Preparation shows that I am mature and that I care about the organization and the subject at hand. Another aspect of leadership is the planning process.

Leadership opportunities arise when planning meetings and events. In NHS, we have to plan important events, like Mr. Millard South (pageant show) and the silent auction that runs before and during the show. The funds raised are for the NHS scholarship winners. While planning these events, the NHS members that volunteer for the event planning get to sign up for the committee that they choose to be a part of. In HOSA, we have a similar process. Each state officer is in charge of a certain committee, like the Finances Committee. When planning an event in HOSA, each event has positions that each state officer fills; the positions include: president, vice-president, and two other members to help in a certain aspect depending on the event.

Participation in extracurricular organizations shows the importance of involvement within the school, the community, and the world issues. Each little bit of help becomes a big change in the long run, that is why I like to be involved in extracurricular organizations. They show us how to obtain leadership through involvement and actual experience.