More Than A Big Pin and A Round of Applause

20 January 2013Mollie G, Mackenzie ‘13

It was a brisk morning and the mist had turned into a light drizzle with just enough moisture to make you crave your rain jacket. I had set my alarm clock to ring a crucial 10 minutes earlier, but I hardly needed it, for my nerves had shaken me awake.

For me, tumbling around clumsily tends to be a trend when you’ve got a meeting with the Head of School.

Rather than calmly getting myself together, the only thing my thoughts could scream was “YOU CANNOT BE LATE FOR THIS MEETING.”  As I walked out of the house, drawing awkward glances as I quietly whispered interview questions for Mr. Patel, I thought about the night before.

The Grade12s of Mackenzie house had received their Prefect pins from the gracious Mr. Patel. Prefectship is an honor and responsibility for any Grade 12 at Brentwood. It was my responsibility to follow up with Mr. Patel to summarize some of his inspirational comments on what leadership meant to him and why the Grade 12s had been honored with this opportunity.

And I was so nervous.

Mr. Patel welcomed me into his office and his small talk seemed to walk my nerves right out the front door. “Leadership is a position of honor and service, but some people confuse is with glory” he promptly told me. “Leadership is embedded in all of us” he proudly remarked, “Role modeling doesn’t mean we’re goody two shoes all the time. When you’re a leader, people are always watching and it’s important to be true to yourself and be who you are.”

For a man of such power and position, his humbling statements promptly showed me why he was chosen as our new Head of School. As students, prefects, and even staff, we must have a moral code, a responsibility to live up to our personal values and be the role models that our inner leaders express us to be.

“You’re not always going to have somebody there to give you a big pin and a round of applause,” noted Mr. Patel, “but the feeling of being a great role model and a helping hand is irreplaceable.”  

Mollie G, Mackenzie ‘13