The student arrived late
in a wrinkled concert t-shirt
a faint coffee stain
highlighting a band’s name I had never heard of
and with a worn backpack
slipping down his still thin adolescent spine
zippers open
the contents more outside than inside
It was a 2.0 semester
mostly Cs, one with a minus
and a B+ thrown in
“How are things going? “ I ask.
“Okay,” he says, with a slight shrug
eyes grazing the oriental rug
“You are off academic probation, that’s great.” I say.
“Yeah.” he replies.
“I see you’ve registered for 15 credits for next semester. Do you feel that you can manage this many credits well?”
“I think so.”
“Are you working?”
I pry.
“Yup. 30 hours a week at Jimmy John’s. Sometimes more.”
“That’s a lot of Jimmy John’s.”
“Yeah, we have some bills to pay since Mom left. The lights, you know.”
“Umm. “
“Yeah.”
Silence.
“Dad left a while ago and Mom, well, it’s just me and Paul my younger brother.”
Listen.
Leadership manifests in surprising ways
“You amaze me.” I say quietly. “Look at all you’ve accomplished. I am proud of you.”
“Thank you,” he smiles ever so briefly and looks up at me
this abandoned child
this courageous leader
teaching me from across a desk in an ordinary university office
what extraordinary leadership can look like.
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