Leadership Application Tips

Leadership season at Worcester Academy is here, and all groups, with the addition of new student leadership opportunities, are looking for students willing to step up and help run and better student life here on campus. While the applications for student leadership positions may be thorough and even intimidating at first, here is why, coming from a student leader, you should take the risk and apply to be a student leader.

The process of applying to be a student leader is extensive but simple. To start, you have to fill out the student leadership application, featuring questions on why you want to be a leader and how you’re going to benefit the Worcester Academy as a student leader. Afterward, applicants will fill out a separate application or supplement for the specific leadership groups they are interested in. Every group requires an interview, which you must schedule after filling out the specific leadership application. If you are applying for BoM, you must also present a speech in front of the school.

From my experience with Pillars, I went through multiple rounds of interviews, beginning in a group setting and moving on to 1:1 discussions with the Pillars’ faculty advisors.

When applying for a leadership position, the biggest advice I could give to anyone applying is to be your 100% authentic self. While going through the long process of applying for Pillars, the number one thing I focused on when answering every question was being myself. I didn’t try to come up with perfect answers to everything that didn’t really reflect who I was and instead answered them in a way that was true to my character.

I stuck with this perspective throughout my interview process, as well. During my Pillar interview, I took time to think about my answer, and didn’t arrive with a pre-memorized answer to what the faculty advisors might ask me; I wanted all of my responses to be from the heart. 

Being a student leader, specifically a Pillar, opened my eyes to different perspectives and the experiences of my peers here on campus. I’ve been able to connect with people who I likely wouldn’t have without being a Pillar, and grow in my relationship with people I had already known, expanding on our shared interests and values. 

There are so many different leadership positions to match everyone’s passions. Maybe peer mentoring isn’t your thing, and you’d rather take on a bigger role at this school, there’s the Board of Monitors. Or maybe you want to take on a DEI role, there’s the Student Diversity Committee.

Becoming a student leader at Worcester Academy won’t only look good on college applications, but will help you mature and grow your collaboration skills, and I overall encourage everyone to apply for a leadership position.