Four years. 48 months. 1,440 days. 34,560 hours. 2,073,600 seconds. That’s the amount of time I’ve spent as a high school student. Walking through the doors of LHS, on my first day as a freshman, I thought the time stretching in front of me was endless and was going to last forever. But leaving now, I’ve realized how quickly those hours and minutes pass and how quickly my future is approaching. 

   The numerous lessons I’ve learned in high school are going to be helpful for me in college, but the biggest thing I’m taking out of my newspaper class is my leadership skills. That freshman wouldn’t have considered herself a leader, but now I feel like I’ve grown so much in being able to communicate with and lead others.

   According to Indeed.com, “Leadership is a vital management function that helps to direct an organization’s resources for improved efficiency and the achievement of goals. Effective leaders provide clarity of purpose, motivate and guide the organization to realize its mission.” 

   Without my time in Newspaper, I don’t think I would be the kind of leader I am today. I wouldn’t understand the time, people skills and knowledge that goes into leading a group of people.

   Many people don’t think that leadership is important, or think that today’s generation more than ever is “lazy”, or don’t care about becoming a leader or developing their leadership skills. But I’ve seen so many people around me become leaders throughout their time in high school, just like myself. 

   I don’t intend to go into journalism, but I know in any of my future opportunities I can take these leadership skills with me. 

   I intend on majoring in Biochemistry at Creighton University and then pursuing a Master’s degree in pharmaceuticals after my undergraduate studies. I’m going to miss all of the people I’ve met in high school, but I’m also so excited to graduate and get to pursue a career that I’m passionate about. I know that being a leader will be important in my time in college and in my future career, and I’m grateful for the opportunities I’ve had in high school to develop this.