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Interview Responses
What experience best reflects your ability as a leader?
I have been a leader all my life, but there is one experience, in particular, that has been the best leadership opportunity for me, and that is being the captain of my softball team. From Junior to Senior year, I have been able to show more leadership and support for my teammates than I ever have before. Last year, I was able to be on the field alongside my teammates giving them advice and helping them grow, but this year, due to my unexpected injury that had me crippled me for the entire season, I have been able to show a completely different aspect of my leadership ability. My injury has allowed me to see things from a coach's ;oint of view rather than a teammates point of view, and I have been able to mentor and encourage my teammates in a whole new way. I have tried my best to show up to every practice, every game, and every tournament possible just so I can be there for my team. My leadership role has taught me that no matter what adversity I am facing, it's important to remain a team player and show up for your teammates.
What's the most important thing you learned in school?
The most important thing I learned in school was time management. I have always been a very busy person between school, sports, clubs, church, work, and my social life; therefore, I was forced to learn early on the importance of managing my time wisely in order to maintain good grades. Over the years, I have acquired the ability of prioritizing my school work over extra-curricular activities. My school work is the first thing I get done when I get home from school and I have trained myself to follow through with this. Time management is something that is going to be useful for any professional career that I choose and overall important for life.
Tell us about your most challenging experience. What obstacles did you encounter and how did you overcome them?
The most challenging experience that I have gone through is tearing my ACL and meniscus my senior year. It was mid-basketball season when this happened and I was informed that I was no longer allowed to finish the season or even play any of my softball season. Being an athlete my entire life, this was the hardest thing I had to hear. I faced many obstacles during this time. I had to undergo surgery. I was unable to walk, drive, and participate in normal activities. I was in an immense amount of pain. I didn't get invited places. And the worst of it all, I struggled not only physically, but mentally and emotionally as well. It was definitely a hard pill to swallow, but with my strong support system and my faith in God, I was able to wake up every day with a smile on my face. I overcame this challenging experience by realizing how blessed I really I am. Although this situation was not ideal for my senior year, I realized that it could have been a lot worse. I maintained a positive attitude as best and I could and kept my faith in God throughout this draining process.
What motivates you to do your best?
My greatest motivation in life is God. I always try my best to work hard and do good in everything I do to exceed His expectations of me. In addition, success is a huge motivating factor as well. Because I am a part of a team, and I want to become a teacher, watching others succeed is inspiring to me. I love teaching others, and watching them succeed at something that I showed them is very rewarding, especially knowing how proud of themselves they are.
Tell me about a time when you had to give someone difficult feedback. How did you handle it?
There was a girl who played on my softball team who had a very poor attitude. She has always been a really solid player, both hitting and in the field, but she always had this bad attitude. One time she didn't have a good game, and she came off the field, threw her bat on the ground and her helmet on the bench, and then started cussing up a storm. We told her to shake it off and focus on the next pitch, but she would sit there and sulk. This happened game after game. Anytime she struck out, or popped up, or made an error, she would come in the dugout furious. Eventually it got to the point where our coach had to sit down and have a talk with her. Even after the conversation, she was still acting out. So finally, the other captains and I decided it was time for us to do something. We took her out to lunch and had a long conversation with her about how she needs to change her attitude, let things go, and play more for her teammates instead of herself. Although it was a difficult conversation, we knew it had to be done. We took initiative and handled it with maturity and honesty, and I think it went pretty well.
What is your greatest strength? What is your greatest weakness?
My biggest strength in life has always been my work ethic. I feel like the most important thing to do in a job is to work hard. There are always going to be others who are more qualified or overall better at the job than I am, but I refuse to let anyone work harder than me. My biggest weakness, on the other hand, is that I have difficulty focusing on one thing for a long period of time. I typically prefer to do things that are hands-on and I like to change things up every day. In order to get past this weakness in school, I set goals and specific times for myself in order to efficiently complete my school work. I always tried to get my work done right when I got home from school, so that I could have the rest of the night to be active. Because of this, I have learned to be more disciplined, and it has led me to do well in school.
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