Leadership; Leading and teaching a group of people, sharing new and old experiences, and taking part in opportunities together as a team. Leadership was designed for those who want to help others, and for sophomore Barbara Sylvester her role as a leader has just begun. 

Sylvester takes part in a club called Key Club, which is an organization that offers opportunities for children and adults to become more active in helping the community. As a Sophomore Class Representative in Key Club, Sylvester has become a relative key point in the club and shows others that youth can be overshadowed by actions. 

“My role is to basically represent the sophomores in Key Club and speak for what they want,” Sylvester said. “I’m also responsible for spreading the word about Key Club to fellow sophomores, encouraging them to join. So far I have absolutely loved my role as an officer this year.”

Key Club is a voluntary group that is shared all around the world that helps encourage people of all ages to begin volunteering and taking part in community service. 

“I think [Key Club] is a really great and fun opportunity that more people should really try and get involved in,” Sylvester said. “[The main] focus [of Key Club] is getting fellow high schoolers involved in community service and interacting with their community more.”

The leadership role for this club has helped Sylvester overcome some road bumps she has faced in her role of being a representative. 

“I am a naturally shy and quiet person, and I mean like really shy,” Sylvester said. “But Key Club has given me the opportunity to meet so many new people, especially my fellow officers, and try and get over my shyness. I have also learned great leadership roles for the future that I can use if I ever have another leadership role in a job or class. I can apply my new “skills” to my life because these are skills you can find everywhere. Your job, community, [and] school. I think Key Club is really helping me get more prepared for what lies ahead of me.”

Despite only being a sophomore, Sylvester has already dedicated much of her life to helping out the community, in and out of school. With the addition of the Key Club this year, Sylvester has many experiences under her wings. 

“I was in NJHS in middle school and they follow many of the same rules as Key Club does now,” Sylvester said. “When I was younger my mom worked at Keller Williams and they would always be asking for volunteers. I enjoy doing it because the thought of me helping out the community under my own will just really makes me feel good as a person, [and] colleges really like [this] sort of stuff.” 

Sylvester’s role of being a leader in the club has come with big expectations, as well as exposure to new people and ideas. 

“Being an officer in Key Club means that I have to assist in making the meeting slides and maybe, but not likely, having to help run a meeting or something [similar],” Sylvester said. “As the Sophomore Class Representative, it has opened up many new doors. Just for starters I have met so many new people just my first year in Key Club. It is [also] great to put on college applications because it shows them you want to be more involved in school activities and leadership roles. Building onto that though, I have learned a lot of new valuable leadership skills that will have great use in the future.”

Sylvester said that she hopes to have a job in the future where she can apply her leadership skills that she has learned.

“In the future I wish to be some sort of engineer,” Sylvester said. “This could mean that as I get more experience in that field or job I would have to lead or be in charge of a group of  people, which may not seem like it, but is very similar to what I do in Key Club as an officer. [Thanks to Key Club] I will already have some experience of leading a group of people.” 

Now that she has a role, Sylvester said that she plans on becoming more involved in the school community, as well as volunteering with other groups, in addition to the events she has attended since the beginning of the year. 

“I really want to get more people to join [Key Club],” Sylvester said. “Personally, I want to move up as an officer, [and] hold a higher position. In the future after Key Club, I hope to still volunteer just as much and try to get more engrossed in the community wherever I go.”