Integrating Sweat Equity, Synergy, and Servant Leadership

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• Leadership in Team Athletics – Playing competitive soccer and captaining teams taught me to lead by example, work toward shared goals, and embrace the power of synergy in team spaces. I learned that respect is earned through effort, resilience, and collaboration, a lesson that continues to inform my leadership across different domains. A team is only as strong as the sum of its parts, and individual efforts are readily overshadowed by dissonance, lack of communication, or the loss of motivation and available social and emotional support. I hold myself to a high standard because it demonstrates a foundation for others around me to do the same and work to drive communities built on respect for others.
   

• Global and Cultural Leadership – One of the most important experiences in developing my early leadership philosophy emerged through my role as Director of MYELIN—a free neuroscience curriculum aligned with Next Generation Science Standards—for the International Youth Neuroscience Association. This role allowed me to lead an international team of 267 staff and provide accessible neuroscience resources to 8,750 members across 126 countries. In addition to reaffirming my desire to increase equity and inclusion, managing my positional responsibilities—which impacted numerous team members—cemented my resilience and taught me how to recognize and support the skills of others based on their academic backgrounds and cultural perspectives. Ultimately, I reinforced my ability to navigate cross-cultural leadership, fostering an appreciation for diverse identities and interdisciplinary collaboration.
   

• Leadership Across Disciplines – I have tailored my leadership approach to fit varied environments, including academic leadership, classroom mentorship, athletics, journalism, social justice; and diversity, equity, and inclusion advocacy. Each experience strengthened my ability to delegate effectively, recognize individual strengths, and create opportunities for others to thrive. While one role might require leadership rooted in mediation, another position may emphasize organized facilitation or energizing. 
   

• Advocating for Equity and Integrity in Leadership – Encountering discrimination and bias at the University of Washington taught me how to advocate for myself and others, demanding respect, equity, and fair treatment in academic and professional spaces. These experiences fueled my commitment to mentorship and accessibility, ensuring that underrepresented students in STEM feel empowered to pursue their ambitions.
   

• Leadership through Knowledge-Sharing – I believe in the power of resource accessibility, education, and shared knowledge to drive change. Whether developing neuroscience curricula, designing cognitive flexibility exercises, or conducting clinical psychology research to advance healthcare treatment options, I have learned to apply my learning to teach others and inspire increased opportunities to derive or share information about science and medicine.
   

• Leading with Confidence and Adaptability – My role as a Dubs handler requires situational adaptability, problem-solving, and front-facing leadership within the University of Washington community. I gained confidence in my ability to manage rapidly changing environments, represent an institution with professionalism, and build relationships across diverse communities of students, fans, and members of the public.
   

• Interdisciplinary Leadership – By working across neuroscience, psychology, justice, education, and public health, I have developed the ability to synthesize knowledge across disciplines, leveraging cross-disciplinary experiences to solve complex problems and expand accessibility. My interdisciplinary approach has strengthened my ability to connect people, bridge gaps, and drive meaningful change with respect to the identities of individuals and broadening my own cultural competence.