Mainely Middle Journal of the Maine Association for Middle Level Education Back to Table of Contents | MAMLE Homepage

Volume 12, Number 1 2001/2002   Author: Lura Raymond currently a tenth grader at Orono High school in Orone, Maine.   Editor's note: The following article is the text of Lura Raymond's keynote address at the Second Annual Middle Level Scholar Leader Awards Banquet at the Augusta Civic Center last May. As a ninth grade student, Lura addressed the crowd of over four hundred with great poise. Not only did she help us honor the eighth grade award winners, but she also demonstrated what it means to be a scholar leader. Watch for information on the 2002 Middle Level Scholar Leader Awards Banguet on May 23, 2002. Be sure your school participates in this important event.

Being A Scholar-Leader Good evening ladies and gentlemen, honored guests, and outstanding students. My name is Lura Raymond and I am a freshman at Orono High School. I am a member of the high school JV soccer team, school band, freshman and student council. I have also recently been elected president of next year's sophomore class. Last year during my freshman orientation, the president of the out-going senior class spoke to all of the students and their families and said something that I found to be very true and meaningful. She said, "high school will be what you make of it." As she said this I thought to myself, this could be taken even further than high school. Why not say, life will be what you make of it? I started to think about what I had done the year before. I found that I had put a lot of effort into that year. I then looked at the difference I had made, not only in my different after school activities, but also in my school as a whole. I also remembered how stressed I was during some of those times. So I came up with a few key things that I feel help to make a good student leader. The first key thing is the past and how you learn from it. I have not had a very easy past like most people. I have had my share of ups and downs. The one thing that effected me the most was the death of my mother. This hit me hard and made me grow up quickly. I learned how to take on larger responsibilities at a younger age. I didn't need to do this, but that was the way I was, I needed to help others. I know this experience has helped me to grow and become the person I am today. Many of us go through things we don't like or don't want to take part in, but like the saying goes: life isn't always fair. We all go through things we wish we didn't have to, but we learn from those experiences and become stronger. We also may learn not to do things like that again. The next key point to being a good student leader is to be just that. A student leader - I personally think it was said that way for a reason. In order to be a student leader, you must be a student first and a leader second. I'm not just talking about getting good grades in school, but being a student in every way possible. When you write a paper what do you do before you write it? You research your topic. And when you play a sport how do you learn the new plays? You listen to your coach or teammates and you practice. And when you build a birdhouse, how do you know how to build it? There was someone that had done it before you and had written out plans for you. You see, you have to learn about things before you can start teaching or leading others in that area. Without the knowledge of the subject, it is difficult to lead others in that area. The third key point is to take the initiative. You have a wonderful idea in your head, and now it's time to put that idea into action. You need to stand up for what you believe in, even if you are standing alone. This shows others that you are strong and really care about what you believe in. At your age right now, and for the next few years, your peers are going to have a major role in your life. You will be faced with many challenges and pressures that you may wish you never would have to face. You are having to choose between what you believe in and what everyone else is doing. Remember that there are others that may not want to do what everyone else is doing either. You have to take a stand and show the people like yourself that they don't have to do things that they don't want to do. The fourth key point is to work hard. Putting in extra energy and extra hours is another part to being a student leader. You may put in the extra hours practicing your free throws or your clarinet if that is what you want to do well in. Others will put in extra hours on a project or a summary that your committee needs for the next meeting. During these times, you may put in all the energy you have left just to get it done on time. This is a true trait of any leader. Many of you have gone the extra mile to get that project or shot mastered. In the end though, you were the one that prevailed. You were the one who made the basket to help the team, or the one that got your poster hung in the hall because the teacher liked it so much. You are the people that we are not worried about in the future. We know you will work hard and reach your goals. The next key point to being a student leader is one I am still trying to master, that is to let others help you. I don't know about you, but sometimes I feel like the only way something will get done right is if I do it by myself. I am proud to say that I am a team captain of three teams that take part in the Relay for Life put on by the American Cancer Society. This past April, we decided to put on a spaghetti supper as our main fundraiser. I had a vision of this perfect night, but I had no idea what I was going to do or how I was going to do it. I was very afraid to let any of my team members take care of some part of the supper. I figured I would do most of it myself with the help of my dad. A few weeks before the supper, I realized that I needed help. I talked to my dad about it and he suggested that I get some of the teachers involved in the planning. That was one thing I was not interested in doing. I didn't want the teachers to think that I couldn't do it by myself. But I thought that if I told only one teacher, it wouldn't be so bad. I ended up telling one of the secretaries at the main office and then she told a few other teachers that I needed help with the supper. The next thing I knew, everything had been taken care of. Everything we needed was there when we needed it and the night of the supper was wonderful. This was a big eye-opener for me. I could go to people and ask for their help without them thinking I wasn't able to do it. Without the help of the teachers and the rest of the people that helped out, I wouldn't have been able to do it. The last thing that you need in order to be a student leader is to be happy. Without that you are lost. One of my English teachers made a good point this year. She said, "if you don't like what you are doing, how are you going to convince others to like it?" Always make sure you are happy. Take care of your needs before you take care of others for their needs won't be taken care of if yours aren't. I hope these things I have shared with you will help you be good student leaders. Before I go, I want to quote last year's student speaker, Jennifer Chantrill, when she said, "your leadership skills are given to you to share and to show, not to hide and be ashamed of." You all can do amazing things that can change the world. You just have to be you and use your skills to help others. In the end you will be the ones on top! Back to Top