Student leaders develop in college

BY MICHAELA DENNIS / Executive Producer

Jashone Titus is the President of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated and a member of the Black Student Union (BSU).

Titus has been a member of BSU for two years and a member of Sigma for one year.

Titus feels like being one of the representatives of an African American organization on campus is a challenge. As a senior, Titus still struggles with finding a healthy balance between his extracurricular activities and student responsibilities.

Titus advice to other leaders who are struggling to find their daily motivation is to remember your reason for joining your organization.

He encourages leaders to remember joining an organization was a choice they made and the responsibility they agreed to take on.

“You can be a leader and not be super serious,” Titus said. “Not all leaders are shown in a happy light because all the work we do is so strenuous and serious.” 

Zemoni Hopkins is the Corps of Cadets and Army ROTC Corps Commander.

“The senior ranking Cadet officer in the Corps is the Corps Commander who is ultimately responsible for all Cadets and their actions as well as Corps events and activities,” the official Corps of Cadets manual said.

Hopkins has been a member of both organizations for four years.

She said that although being a leader is challenging, the positives outweigh the negatives. Hopkins enjoys being able to create a deeper bond with her teammates, networking and being productive in both organizations.

Through the years, this has shaped her to be more well rounded. By being a representative, she’s able to make a variety of connections and learn different critical thinking techniques to apply to her organizations.

Some of the skills that she has developed while being a leader in both organizations is time management, working under pressure, communication and interpersonal skills.

Hopkins said an aspect of her job that people don’t realize is the development of self care to motivate yourself to be productive.

She said an underestimated part of the job is the expectations one has of you when you transition into a leadership role. Especially, when you are trying to set the standard and showcase a positive environment for your team.

“What people don’t realize is as a leader you’re still learning how to do your job,” Hopkins said.

Hopkins said that learning her position has been a challenge while also managing life as a student and part time worker.

Hopkins admits that she is still progressing but always wants to have a bold face for her teammates.

Her motivation is to always set the standard for her peers to follow.