This past week, I had the wonderful opportunity to sit down and chat with Amanda Calleberg, one of the ConocoPhillips Youth of Distinction Awards (YODA) finalists for the leadership category.
ConocoPhillips Youth of Distinction Leadership Award
To be given to a youth who has chosen to take a leadership role in bringing positive change to their school or community. The nominee will have demonstrated responsibility and drive, as well as initiative in starting new projects and programs.
Amanda is a recent graduate from St. Francis High School. She dedicates much of her time helping others succeed. When not working hard at school, she is either performing at Calaway Park, instructing dance, or tutoring her peers in her favourite subjects. A lifelong dancer, she has organized and taught many dances for students from many different backgrounds. Through DanceWorks, Amanda was also able to lead a group of students from her former junior high school perform a hip hop dance at the event.
Speaking to Amanda, I was also amazed at her desire to continue learning and peer tutoring those that need help. She tells me that as a tutor, her job is to give students a new perspective and second opinion to the concepts covered by teachers! It was great speaking to Amanda, and I hope you will find out why she is such an amazing youth below.
What do you think it means to be a leader?
I think being a leader means being able to point someone in the right direction, but not necessarily there to tell them what to do or how to get there. Being a leader is to be a friend that’s able to make executive decisions without hesitation. Someone that can just act in a way that intuition tells them, and not be sacred of it; someone who is not afraid to make mistakes.
A leader is also someone who is able to take on new experiences and challenges, and be able to see the potential in someone. For example, if you’re tutoring someone, a leader is going to realize that the student does have all the capability that they can absorb information and maybe it’s just in a different way. A leader is someone who can recognize that and show them the right path to take, even if they haven’t experienced it themselves; someone who can empathize with people instead of sympathizing.
Who or what inspired you to become a leader in your community?
There wasn’t one specific person who I would say inspired me, but rather I think that I tend to feed off the energy of the people around me. My whole school and family have all been very supportive, and I just feel that I’ve been a natural leader my whole life. It is the people that I am leading that really inspire me to keep on going and to take on new projects, because they are the ones that assure me that I can do a great job. The results that I get from my leadership work can really motivate me to keep leading because I like to see my work putting smiles on people’s faces and allowing them to reach their full potential.
As a leader, describe the best moment you have had.
One of the best moments I had was when my school did a flash mob during our talent show. This was a dance flash mob that I had been wanting to organize for two years. With the approval of my teachers, I got together a group of people to learn two dances, while keeping it very secretive from those that were not involved.
The flash mob was really nice because many of the people involved didn’t come from dancing backgrounds, they came from every walk of life. Seeing them come together, being united by the dancing and good times, it was great because it showed that you do not need to excel at something to do it in front of a large audience. As long as you are having fun with it, then others will too. As we were performing the dances, the energy and spirit in the whole gym was roaring. That was one of the best moments for me, seeing it all come to play and the final result of my hard work.
What is the biggest obstacle you have faced as a leader?
The biggest obstacle I have faced being a leader would be trying to manage my time and all of my activities. If someone comes up to me and asks me to do a project, I would always say yes. It is rare that I would say no because I would feel that I have missed a great opportunity. I would always go for it. I do not like to delay what can be done today for tomorrow.
As a result, I would jam pack my day full of activities and leadership roles. This can be at times a bit overwhelming, as you do need some down time to yourself. I was able to cope with this because I was used to being very busy. As a child, I was involved in lots of different sports and dancing. Thus, the transition into my leadership roles was not that difficult because I was already accustomed to having many projects going at once, with little downtime to myself.
What would be your advice to up and coming leaders?
My number one advice would be, don’t be afraid, and that could mean many things. For one, it could mean don’t be afraid to go up to someone to suggest a new idea or a new perspective on a problem. It could also mean don’t be afraid to voice a concern or issue that you have thought of in a project.
The youth need to speak up for themselves. I think it is very important that you need to advocate for yourself to the fullest extent that you possibly can, and that you advocate for your friends and family no matter what situation they are in. Never be afraid to try something new and never be afraid to fail. Failure is a big part of life, everyone experiences it. You have to embrace your failures and learn from them: don’t be afraid to open up doors that you don’t know where they will take you.
Taking on new journeys is an important part of life. It will give you valuable experiences that you will grow from for the rest of your life and make you who you are.
What are your future plans or goals?
This September, I will be starting my studies in engineering at the University of Calgary. Eventually, I hope to graduate there with my engineering degree and work as an engineer in the field. Recently, I have also noticed a new interest in the law field, so potentially, going to law school to become a lawyer could be in the works after my engineering degree. In my dancing, I hope to continue to teach dance and to expand the genres of dance that I can teach. I also hope to get certified as a fitness instructor so that I can teach fitness classes in the future. In terms of new hobbies, I have started taking up teaching myself the guitar, which I hope to continue expanding my skills and song repertoire.
Anything else you would like to add?
There are a few people that I would really like to thank. First of all, I would like to thank my mother for always pushing me, never giving up on me, and always believing in me. I would like to thank my father for always adding some fun and humour into my life. I would like to thank my sister for teaching me what it means to be family and for teaching me what my priorities should be. I would like to thank all the staff at St. Francis High School for nurturing me to the person that I am for the past three years. I would especially like to thank Mr. Blischak, my Teacher Advisor. He was instrumental in making me the person I am today because he would always believe in me, encouraging and suggesting to me new things that I should do. I am glad that I embraced those suggestions, because they have positively influenced the person I am today!
