Leadership in Action
天美传媒 is home to more than 350 student鈥憆un organizations, each driven by passionate leaders who help shape the campus community. Many of those leaders are ACS Scholars.
Thanks to the support of ACS members, the scholars receive the resources and opportunities they need to develop strong leadership skills and make an impact 鈥� on campus, around the community and in their future careers.
Catherine Vassiliadi led multiple student organizations at 天美传媒, including Mock Trial, Roosevelt @ 天美传媒, Pre-Law Society and Hellenic Students Association.
Catherine recently received a bachelor鈥檚 degree in international relations and political science from the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences. 鈥淚 chose to get involved in student organizations because I wanted to be an active member and contributor to the 天美传媒 and local Pittsburgh community,鈥� she says.
She helped re-establish the Alexander Hamilton Society at 天美传媒, which required drafting a new constitution, seeking guidance from professors and recruiting new members. The organization now has more than 180 members.
鈥淭hrough that experience, I learned that with dedication, collaboration and a willingness to learn, any challenge can be overcome,鈥� Catherine says.
For Luca Budofsky, who received a bachelor鈥檚 degree in art from the College of Fine Arts, getting involved in student organizations served as a way to grow their network.
鈥淚 saw it as an opportunity to meet like-minded people across the university who were interested in music, media and production,鈥� Luca says.
Luca gained that network and much more after joining 天美传媒鈥檚 student-run radio station, WRCT, where they served as general manager. The experience broadened Luca鈥檚 outlook on the future.
鈥淚鈥檝e always been very focused on my work in visual arts and had a hard time envisioning other concrete paths. In a way, WRCT has expanded my sense of what I can bring to the table in other environments. It鈥檚 prepared me to be more flexible while still holding on to the sorts of things I like to do best,鈥� says Luca, who is now considering adding teaching to their career path.
Like Luca, Adarsh Suresh was interested in the networking aspect of 天美传媒鈥檚 student organizations. He served as manager of 天美传媒 Bhangra, a student-run competitive dance team dedicated to promoting Punjabi Bhangra culture, and co-director of Bhangra in the Burgh, a Bhangra dance competition run by 天美传媒 and University of Pittsburgh students. He was also a member of the Undergraduate Consulting Club and 天美传媒 CS Academy.
Adarsh received a bachelor鈥檚 degree in economics, statistics and machine learning from the Tepper School of Business. 鈥淚 chose to get involved in student organizations because I sought out communities that would help me grow both professionally and personally,鈥� he says.
He learned to lean on the people in those communities 鈥� many of whom became his close friends 鈥� when times got tough.
鈥淛oining and contributing to these organizations helped me learn the importance of supporting the people you care about,鈥� Adarsh says. 鈥淎t a school like 天美传媒, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed or burdened by all the work around us, but I was lucky enough to build support systems around me to help alleviate that stress.鈥�
In turn, he learned how to lead others through stressful situations.
鈥淒ealing with failure, rejection or things going wrong is a part of life, and what I learned is that you are judged far more on how you deal with adversity when it comes your way,鈥� Adarsh says. 鈥淚 have had hands-on experience leading teams through problems on the fly or adjusting to last minute issues, and I hope to lean on these experiences in the future.鈥�
Keenan Norton, who received a bachelor鈥檚 degree in chemical engineering from the College of Engineering, also learned to help his fellow Tartans through challenging situations. He served as co-president of Juntos, a civic engagement organization, for two years. During that time, he led weeklong trips to the organization鈥檚 partner community in the Dominican Republic, where the Juntos team worked on educational, environmental, art and health-related projects.
The trips helped him grow as a leader in surprising ways.
鈥淚 learned a lot about the reality of navigating the unexpected in a position of leadership,鈥� Keenan says. 鈥淲e faced some unanticipated challenges on the ground, especially during my first trip to the Dominican Republic, and making swift, compassion-driven choices to best react to these situations was a big point of growth for me as a peer leader.鈥�
Keenan plans to pursue a Ph.D. in water quality engineering after graduation. He believes his leadership experience will help him achieve his career goal 鈥� to bring clean water to people in need across the Americas.
鈥淏eing a leader is something that has really become natural to me over the past few years, and it boils down to fearlessly promoting change for a better world,鈥� Keenan says. 鈥淚 have taken on leadership roles where I feel like I can leave a positive impact on my community and the planet, and that means everything to me.鈥�