My Chosen Leader

The leader that I decided to choose for this assignment was the one and only Janet Newman.
Janet was my professor for freshman year PDS, and she was a monumental piece of me finding
my place here at Nichols College last year. She is one of the kindest people I have ever had the
pleasure of meeting in my academic career, and she makes it her mission to show her care for
you and your education in all the interactions she has with students. She is a great example of
every principle we learned about in The Student Leadership Challenge chapters, and specifically
exemplifies encouraging the heart very well. She models the way when teaching and leading by
always putting herself in your shoes- as a college student trying to keep up with the academic,
social, and athletics facets of college. I remember when we began talking about alcohol in PDS
last year, and she made a very uncomfortable conversation with an adult extremely comfortable-
as if she was a human being who also experienced parties and the college life, which almost
never happens when you are being lectured about the safety of these things. Every student
usually rolls their eyes when being talked to about those ideas, but with Janet, it was as if
everyone in the room completely listened to what she had to say- and understood it, too! She also
inspires a shared vision with the same empathetic quality, as she makes it feel as if you are not
alone with any struggle you are facing and works to create that tether between you and her to
reach the goal you are working towards- whether that’s in academics or just simply being a
presence on this campus. This characteristic then leads to challenging the process, where she
likes to challenge you to step out of your comfort zone and makes the “boring” things seem more
than exciting, creating an environment where you have no option but to be eager to learn more.
Janet is extremely persistent in the “Enabling Others to Act” principle, as she constantly
emphasizes how important collaboration and team work really is- especially on a campus like
Nichols. She constantly hammers in the fact that anything is possible on this campus, and if you
have a goal you really want to reach, all you have to do is speak up about it and continue to work
towards it. Janet makes it known that there is always a person willing to help you, including her,
and makes that collaborative piece so much easier to see for someone wanting to branch out.
Lastly, and probably the most important to me, is the encouraging the heart principle. Janet is the
best person to go to for positive reinforcement, and no matter what the idea is, she will give you
feedback that actually sticks with you and encourages you to keep moving forward. One of my
favorite quotes by her is “a hug and a nudge”, which perfectly describes how she chooses to lead.
She gives you that comfort of what you are going after is attainable and admirable, but also gives
you that edge to continue to work and push your limits to be the best you can be. Janet Newman
is a great leader and person, and I am so grateful I got to meet her during my Nichols experience.
As I mentioned, one of her best traits is empathy. She does a wonderful job of joining
you in your experiences, rather than judging you for having them on your own. She is also very
honest, which helps with her feedback and positive reinforcements in your journey of attaining
your goal. The last trait I appreciate about Janet is that she is simply kind- kindness,
unfortunately, is a characteristic that not enough people have, and Janet seems to make up for all
those people lacking it- she is a ray of sunshine on a dark day, and it is always appreciated.

If Janet Newman was a superhero, I would probably say she would be SuperGirl.
SuperGirl is known for her fighting injustice and bringing joy back to the city, and her
underlying benevolence that gives her that motivation to fight for good- that seems pretty close
to Janet if you ask me.