What is the process of going from a member of an organization into leading it as the President?Is there some kind of secret way on getting to the top? These were all questions I wondered in my first year at UC Berkeley. Before I begin elaborating on my experiences on how I became the president of multiple organizations (the Omniscient Tutor, See the Lord, Student Pre-Medical Advising Network), I would like to mention that you should only commit your time to organizations that you truly care about and would want to make a difference in, specifically within the field that they are operating in. It would be a complete waste of time if you were just solely doing it to slap that title onto your resume. I’m only saying this because I had that same mindset before. In high school, I made the mistake of becoming a President of 3 organizations merely to add to my list of extracurriculars. Although it worked out in the end (since I got into UC Berkeley), I did not truly believe that I made a significant impact in the fields that my organizations were working in. The most important thing that I learned throughout my 4 years at Cal is that being a President of an organization holds a lot of responsibility (not just being a leader that can inspire the team that you work with, but also uphold your organization’s mission and values in any type of scenario). You might be the President of an organization, but this does not mean that your team members have to respect you. It’s only earned through your actions and leadership style. This was the greatest takeaway that I got from the organizations that I lead now.
Student Pre-Medical Advising Network
See the Lord
The Omniscient Tutor
Now, let’s talk about my leadership experiences in my organizations and how I was able to gradually gain the trust of each of the members in my clubs. One of the organizations that I currently lead is called See the Lord, a non-profit organization centered on healthcare, education, and catholic ministry. I have been involved in this organization ever since my freshman year of college due to my interest in optometry and eyecare. After my first semester in See the Lord, I officially became apart of the executive committee by serving as the secretary. During the period of my position, I was responsible for taking notes during meetings, sending out weekly emails about our events and activities, and managing tabling shifts during our recruitment season. As I executed my tasks in a timely manner and supported the team, I gradually gained the trust of the executive board. I also brought in my leadership experience from high school as well as the skills that I had from establishing a non-profit organization in my first year at Cal.
This non-profit online educational organization is called the Omniscient Tutor. We provide educational resources to middle and high school students in the form of group tutoring, instructional videos, and a Q&A forum. Our team emphasizes on supporting low income students from underprivileged backgrounds by providing them with full scholarships to access our program for free. In the process of founding this organization, I spent dozens of hours every week figuring out how to recruit new instructors as well as establish a leadership team that could help me run the organization and the activities that we conduct. This process helped me learn about the different responsibilities of each officer and how they contribute to the organization as a whole.
Lastly, before I end the blog, I’d like to add in an important advice for those that are looking to become a President of the organizations that they are in: To lead as the President of an organization, one needs to gain the respect and trust of his/her peers through their actions. You need to dedicate as many hours as needed in order to positively impact the organization because you strongly believe in its fundamental mission and values.
If you enjoyed this blog post, then please check out my 1st post here as I give you a glimpse of my Cal YouTuber life. If you want to know how I became a YouTuber or how you can become a YouTuber, then this is the blog for you. Please connect with me if you have any questions or additional resources that you would like!
Youtube video of Vincent's Life at the College Dorms(link is external)(link is external)
Youtube video of Vincent at Calapalooza: UC Berkeley Club Day