Learning to Lead With Community
When I first became a Laidlaw Scholar, I thought leadership was mostly about having an idea and being able to turn that idea into something meaningful. Throughout the program, I have learned that leadership is much more than that. It is knowing when to take initiative, but also knowing when to step back and listen. It is being willing to ask questions, accept criticism, and change your approach when someone else has a perspective you had not considered.
My Leadership in Practice summer with Paradise Lactation Care helped me understand this in a very real way. I created a Maternal Health Resource Toolkit for families in Sumter County, Florida, but the most meaningful part of the project was not simply completing the toolkit. It was learning how important it is for the people a project is intended to serve to have a voice in creating it.
I began the summer thinking about the information I wanted to include. As I worked on the project, I realized that I could create something that looked complete but still not be useful to the people who needed it. I began sharing the toolkit with local mothers and community members and asking them what they thought. Their feedback helped me make changes to the organization, wording, and resources included in the toolkit. That experience taught me to stop assuming that I knew what people needed and instead ask them.
That lesson has stayed with me beyond this specific project. I have learned that being a good leader does not mean having all of the answers. Sometimes it means being curious enough to recognize what you do not know and humble enough to learn from other people.
My experience with Paradise also changed how I think about global citizenship. Before Laidlaw, I might have thought of global citizenship mainly as understanding issues that affect people around the world. Now, I think it is also about how we choose to show up in the communities around us. You do not have to travel across the world to practice global citizenship. You can start by paying attention to the needs of the people around you, learning from their experiences, and using your skills to contribute in a meaningful way.
This experience has also shaped how I think about my future in medicine. I am interested in maternal health and want to become a physician who works to improve health outcomes and experiences for women and families. Working with Paradise Lactation Care showed me that healthcare is about much more than what happens inside a doctor's office. Access to information, transportation, community support, mental health resources, lactation support, and trust can all affect someone's health.
I want to carry that understanding with me into medicine. I want to listen to my future patients and understand their experiences rather than assuming that I already know what they need. I want to be someone who recognizes the barriers that exist outside of the healthcare system and thinks about how I can help address them.
Laidlaw has also pushed me to think about the kind of character I want to have as a leader. I want to be ambitious enough to pursue meaningful change, but humble enough to recognize when I need to listen. I want to be determined when things become difficult without losing sight of the people I am working with. I want to stay curious and continue asking questions instead of assuming I already have the answers.
Most importantly, I want my leadership to be rooted in service. I do not want to simply create things and move on to the next project. I want to think about whether the work I do can continue to help people after I am gone and whether the people affected by that work had a voice in creating it.
Being a Laidlaw Scholar has shown me that ethical leadership is not just about what you accomplish. It is also about how you accomplish it. It is about the people you listen to, the relationships you build, the way you respond when you are challenged, and whether you are willing to share ownership of the work.
As I continue through college and eventually into medicine, I know I will continue learning what leadership means to me. For now, I know that I want to lead with curiosity, humility, compassion, and purpose. I want to create change that is meaningful, sustainable, and shaped by the people it is meant to serve. Most importantly, I want to continue learning how to create change with communities, rather than simply for them.