¶ … Academic Success I truly believe that my strong capacity for leadership capabilities is one of the things that will no doubt instill me with high amounts of academic success. One way that I feel I am able to exhibit strong amounts of leadership is via the fact that I don't panic under pressure. The longer that I've been alive, I've come to realize this is actually a very rare and important quality. The calm and steady demeanor that I am able to exhibit as a leader is something which can help keep others calm in high stress situations, and guide all of us to the most successful outcome of all.

One instance when this manifested was when I was traveling in a foreign country as a 17-year-old. Travel can be stressful enough: there are cultural and language barriers that one has to constantly overcome. It can be an intensive challenge and quite overwhelming at times. Thus, when something goes wrong during travel times it can be especially stressful and scary to so many involved. In this case, five of us got separated from the rest of the group, and we all had to somehow find our way back to New York. This seemed like a formidable task since none of us knew the language and we didn't have any parents or guardians around...

I clearly saw that this was intensely problematic. I saw that such events were just going to cause us more problems in the long run. In fact, I was able to realize that if the hysteria continued, it would only act as a direct obstacle toward our safe return.
I realized that I had to attempt to use my speaking and language abilities as best as I could, along with my knowledge of timetables and maps. It was his leadership initiative that was able to keep us together and allow us to travel safely. Another way in which I was able to continue to maintain the role of group leader was by keeping everyone else calm. As I saw this panic start to fall upon the group, I knew that I had to be the voice of reassurance. I kept reassuring members of the group that everything was going to be okay. I made sure that I repeatedly stated how we were going to get back to New York just fine, safe and sound, and how there was nothing to worry about. I immediately noticed that the calmer and more reassuring…