Caroline Baubonis

How would you describe your leadership style?
I would describe my leadership style as someone who likes to accomplish goals, but still challenges myself at the same time. I enjoy getting goals done, but I also take joy in growing as an individual along the path to fulfilling my goals. I do my best to set good examples, but in the end, I am only human. But, I feel as though this makes me more approachable as a leader because I understand there will be hardships and struggles along the way to success.

Describe the most important quality, value, or characteristic trait that you feel is most essential to be an effective leader.
The most important characteristic contributing towards an effective leader is being able to adapt. As leaders, we can not expect perfection; there will be people who disagree, there will be curve balls thrown our way, and as leaders we must be able to read those signs and adapt to those unexpected challenges.

What is the hardest part of being a leader?
The hardest part of being a leader is that I often am not taken too seriously by my peers. I enjoy having fun and laughing with my friends, and sometimes it is hard to show that I do have a serious side when it comes to accomplishing goals.

What is the best part of being a leader?
The best part of being a leader is being able to see the good that is created due to a leader’s ability to pave a path and follow through with our goals and beliefs. Leaders do not often receive tangible items in return, we put forth the best that we can be and sometimes knowing we have done our best to lead others in a positive direction towards improving our world is simply the best feeling in the world and beats any prize or trophy.

What person, famous or not,  has had an impact on you as a leader? Tell us about it.
A young boy of only eight years old has had the greatest impact on me as a leader. This young boy, Jonathan Ochoa, was the child that I tutored every Saturday morning during my eighth grade year. I was a positive role model for Jonathan; I showed him the outcome of working hard at school, the good feeling released through helping others and simply the joy of learning. When I had first met Jonathan, he could barely read due to his fear of failure. After giving him much encouragement and sharing many personal stories of speech issues that I had along with my difficulties reading when I was a young girl, Jonathan began to open up. He accepted that he was not perfect, and neither was I. Jonathan helped me accept my imperfections because he taught me that it was okay not to be perfect. This helped mold and shape me as a leader.

What advice would you give Regina’s graduating seniors?
Advice I would give to seniors graduating would be to keep in mind that you never know what anyone is going through. We are all guilty of being quick to judge one another, myself being guilty too.  But, we all need try to limit the accusations we make of one another. You never know what is going on in a person’s life.  If we can try to be kind to one another, we can spread compassion and kindness. It is easy to say, but sometimes hard to do, but, I hope we can always try to keep that in the back of your minds.