A good leader is knowledgeable and open-minded to further learning possibilities. Conventionally, “leadership” is defined as “directing others.” In contrast, the intuitive quote from John F. Kennedy, above, expresses that there is much more to leadership than just the dictionary denotation: that leadership is not simply about commanding, but about convincing others to share a common goal. To persuade, a leader must be able to use logic to explain the rationale behind a position. Strong reasoning comes from a broad factual base of knowledge that is gained through learning. My leadership style is to continue learning to lead successfully with strong reasoning. As a child, “Because I said so” was a popular phrase among my parents whenever I questioned orders. This phrase has become a representation of everything that is opposite to my leadership style: it is simply leading with empty reason. When I was younger, I didn't understand why I was constantly told to clean my room, study more, or sleep early; it was always because mom “said so.” Someone had taught me that cleaning my room promoted organization and hygiene; that studying hard would hone the skills needed to succeed in the future; that sleeping early was beneficial to my health, I would be more enthusiastic about doing these tasks. Contrary to the “Because I said so” leadership style, my leadership style is to always teach others to understand what they are doing and why they are doing it, to ensure they never lack motivation or enthusiasm. Purdue will provide me with the knowledge necessary to always have solid reasons at hand. Decision making is an important part of leadership. A school club, Friday N...... middle of paper ......, eager to learn from my team members' ideas, helped me greatly with the procedure. Notable suggestions included nailing our support beams for stability, replacing the glue with Velcro to allow for easy adjustments to the roller coaster "track", and adding wheels to the bottom of the project. By leveraging a solid knowledge base, with logic from learned experiences, and by remaining open-minded to further learning possibilities, I helped organize and successfully implement the project. My leadership is a product of my learning. With aspirations of pursuing a career in engineering and becoming a leader of tomorrow, I seek to maximize my learning abilities by receiving a quality education from Purdue University. Leadership and learning are two intertwined arts, not only indispensable to each other, but also indispensable to my life.