Inside King's-Edgehill School
Join Mr. Rory Campbell in the latest edition of Emerging Leaders. This month, we're excited to be featuring Grade 9 student Alejandro Arguelles.Alex is our latest emerging leader who has made a positive impact on our Junior School community. Alex comes to the red brick buildings and pastoral surroundings of KES from the skyscrapers and liveliness of Mexico City. A Buckle boy, he has fully embraced school life here on campus and has been a friend to all. A strong student whom his teachers describe as diligent and focused, Alex has also made a name for himself on the soccer (football as he would say) pitch as a member of the Highlander senior boys team. Living away from home and learning in a different language is not always easy, but Alex has made a smooth transition and is establishing himself as a leader both in and out of class.
What does leadership mean to you?
For me leadership is about taking a group of people to a better place or better situation.
How would others describe your leadership style?
I think people would talk about my positivity. I am always trying to encourage and support people. I always try to bring people up and not look to blame others because I know what it can be like to be blamed and be made to feel even worse. I don’t want that; I want to pull them up.
What are qualities that you think make a good leader?
I think kindness is the most important thing. If you can’t be kind to others then they will not want to follow you or go with you; it all starts there. I also think being charismatic helps. Having that positive energy and attitude makes others feel good. I also think that it’s important for leaders to be able to stay calm and in control of their emotions and attitude, especially when things are not going well.
Having that self control is hard. How do you stay level-headed when things aren’t going your way?
Even though I try, I don’t always have self control, but I try to remember that not everything in life will go as planned. By remembering that there are some things I can’t control, I try to accept those things and focus on the things I can control or change.
Who do you look up to as a leader?
It might sound cliché because I love football, but I learn a lot from Cristiano Ronaldo about leadership. In some matches, even when things seem hopeless, he steps up. People like him show that having the right kind of attitude makes people around them better.
What advice would you give to a student coming to KES for the first time from a different country?
I would tell them to be positive, it can be easy to be negative about any situation, but it’s about making the best of things no matter what. Also, just being kind to others will result in them being kind to you. Finally, just make an effort to make friends with everyone. I have great friends from Mexico here, but I’ve also made good friends with Canadians too, but that might not have happened if I didn’t try.
What are your goals for the year?
My goal for the year is to be able to look back on this year and say it was one of the best I ever had.
Thanks for taking the time to chat, Alejandro!
