Michael Shaw, 2012 LGR Graduate, shared the following testimony at the graduation ceremony for Leadership Greater Rochester
Michael Shaw, center, on Public Safety Day with Jamie Johnson & Crystal Kittridge
And then there is this “other” section. It’s that small list at the bottom of the page. It has a few one-liners… a year mentoring someone in the Big Brother program, performing in dramas at church, and the like. However, the common theme is that each of those happened because someone asked if I would help. None of it was intentional.
Early on in this program, each of us started a development plan. The first few items were easy…list twenty-five traits and behaviors that represent me and then narrow the list down to a few. It was at that point I struggled because I couldn’t come up with a one-word mission statement. It’s sometimes the simplest things that are the toughest, and the only thing I could come up with was ‘knowledge.’ Although the word fits me, it doesn’t denote action and it isn’t what I wanted it to be.
Moving forward, I had an opportunity to be on a team that developed the Community Impact Project that came in second place. There were three individuals on that team, Nicole, Sarah, and Mandy that had a passion for the project. I never told anyone, but that’s what I wanted to find for myself.
Then our class chose the Golden Hill project and it was evident there were even more people passionate about this one. I’ll admit that my next poignant moment came at my first LGR meeting at the school. I arrived just as class was getting out. I walk in wearing business formal and there are kids literally bouncing off the walls, young mothers carrying babies, and I immediately tensed up. Then that still, small voice said “This may be the only time in their lives someone invests heavily in them… and it may take a day or decades, but perhaps they may find worth in themselves, or even the desire to invest in others.” From that moment on, I knew we were doing the right thing.
A couple of weeks ago, I continued to struggle with the one-word, and then I remembered a quote a mentor had told me when I was in my twenties. At the time he told me one day I’d know what it meant. He said, “Anything good you see in me is the result of someone else’s influence in my life, and the rest I’m still working on.”
Because of thirty-seven exceptional classmates, a group of dedicated instructors and alumni, a company that invests in their own, a principal who showed that planting one seed could reap great rewards, as well as students and teachers at a terrific school, I became a better person these past ten months.
Finally, just two days ago I figured out what my word is… transform. The LGR program has taught me that I have the power to transform myself, as well as transform my community. Now I know how to change that “other” part of my resume, and fill it with intention.
Are you ready to transform? The application process for Leadership Greater Rochester 2012-13 is now open.
