The staff at Her Campus™ has chosen our most memorable answers from our past Campus Celebrities on how they want to succeed and make a difference. These leaders are fellow role models on campus and have managed to maintain that title. To read the whole article, click on their linked names!
Cyril Akita – Who encourages you? What motivates you?My encouragement and motivation in life comes from my parents. They have made sacrifices, but they have always guided me to a middle school, and college preparatory high school that offered a well-rounded education with teachers who were truly dedicated to educate and guide students in their academic development. My parents always told me “just do your best”. Knowing that I give my all to my academics, and that I truly do the best that I can, has always been good enough for them. Their love, sense of humor and belief in me has allowed me to discover my own style and peace of mind.
Lorelei Colbert – You are involved in many different things on campus. Do you enjoy all of them equally or do you have one in particular that you have a special passion for?
I enjoy all of these activities equally but at different times. I get really excited when it is time to go out and run around the field with the team, and I also loved the moment’s right before we would hold an event for the Freshman Class. Sometimes all of the work along with schoolwork becomes a little overwhelming. My passion here is just so broad. I want to thrive inside and outside of the classroom and enjoy college every step of the way.
Keenan Bailey –What does success mean to you?
Success means everything to me. It doesn’t have to be financial success or social status but when I know that I’ve made a difference in a life somewhere then I am successful. I will know it when my actions aren’t benefiting me but those around me. I live to work towards accomplishing my goal. I live to work towards leaving a positive legacy that helped someone or that impacted someone positively. I live to work towards not thinking about myself but putting other first. I live to work because I am a work in progress and I’m definitely working on that.
Michelle Figuerido – The role of International Student Mentor is a huge role. What would you say to someone who aspires to have that position in the future?
Being an International Student Mentor is a lot of fun. I would definitely have to say that it’s important to keep an open mind because it will maximize the experience. I feel that it’s beneficial to learn about different cultures because it simply makes for a more well-rounded person. The hardest part of being a mentor was sometimes talking too fast for my mentee or using expressions my mentee was unfamiliar with. My mentee’s first language is Chinese and she is familiar with the English language, but there would sometimes be communication misunderstandings. Being a mentor allows you to share your insight of Rider and life to an international student, and learn about a culture that is different than your own…plus you gain a friend out of it.
Peter DeFranzo – You see yourself as a CEO of a fortune 500 company, that’s a huge responsibility. How long has this been a goal of yours? I have known I wanted to be a business man since probably the age of sixteen. This knowledge of myself evolved into the goal of becoming a fortune 500 CEO since I began my studies in college. It is tremendously important to me simply because all of the goals I set for myself are that important. I set the bar so extremely high for myself that anywhere I fall beneath it is still an undeniable success. Also, coming from a modest background, I want more for my family and future family. I like to consider myself a jack of all trades, but business is what has stood out more than anything else.
Rebecca Lotito – What qualities do you think you have to have to be a good leader? I think one of my best qualities is that I love people. I love to talk to people and meet new people and I am always trying to reach out to others. My other two good “leadership” qualities would be that I hate to give up. I know when something is a lost cause but until that point I give it everything I have to offer. The second is that I truly care about what I do. If you are not passionate about what you are involved with then you can only be partially committed. I am the person I am today for many reasons but the most important was my mentor, Kenwin Nancoo. Over everything else, he taught me to be perseverant and that good comes to those who change and work diligently. I speak passionately about what he has done for me because he passed away this winter at the end of February. But, through that adversity, I have felt more inspired than ever to “begin” my life and to take charge.
Steven Gable – You are an active member of Rider’s Unashamed Gospel Choir. As a matter of fact, you are vice president. Explain what this organization means to you. This organization means so much. When I was a freshman, I joined the choir when it was under some new leadership and it did not last long. Sophomore year, my friend and I decided to start it up from scratch. So, we developed the choir as a club and it has been a major blessing. I joined the choir because I loved singing in a gospel choir at school and I wanted to continue that and also have some Christian fellowship during the week. It is important for me to continue to be a member because I believe that I belong there with the choir. I believe that there is so much potential with this choir and that it can impact many people. The organization has affected my life because I see how much the organization has improved and it is a real blessing. It is such a blessing to see your own choir grow and become so much more than how it started.
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