Why Student Leadership in College is Important

As members of the Honors College, we are some of Southern's present and future leaders. This article details a variety of reasons as to why becoming leaders in college is so important, not only while you are in college but for your future. Of the 10 reasons that the article shares with us, which reason to become a leader in college is most important to you? Are there any additional reasons that you personally believe student leadership in college is important?
(Here's a link to the article) Article

I believe that whilst entering college this semester, and taking on this role of becoming a leader, I would say that while this article touched upon many great reasons and outcomes for being a leader, the one I relate most to is where it shows you what you are truly capable of. I think it is too easy for us to look at our already heavy work loads, along with work and extracurriculars and home life, etc, and be able to say "you know what, I just can't do it all". But what this semester has taught me is that I truly don't know myself the way I thought I did, that I am capable of so much more.

Student leadership in college is the first step for a person to becoming a leader in the real world. The basic purpose of a college education is for the free flow of information and ideas, and to prepare the student for the real world. In this case, student leadership in college can and certainly will transfer that skillset into the real world for significant applications. Take for example the editor in chief of a school newspaper. On a campus level, that student is responsible for managing and editing the school newspaper. The student has certain leadership skills which allow him or her to discern the most important information in the articles written by the subordinates and then edit the information accordingly. These skills are incredibly important for real-world application. In a large news company like the New York Times, the person who was a manager for his or her school newspaper has experience of being in a managerial position, and can better execute his job requirements. Student leadership in college can be thought of as planting the seeds of a great tree; the seeds of leadership and management are planted when the student is in college and by the time the student begins to work in the real world, that seed has grown into a mighty tree as the student's leadership skills have grown.