Students TO WATCH Justin Westbrook-Lowery ’16 Home Borough: The Bronx College Attending: Fordham University, Lincoln Center Campus Senior Courses: AP Comparative Government and Politics, Christian Ethics on War and Peace, College Algebra, Fathers and Sons in Literature, Journalism, New York: An Exploration, Social Justice, Soldiers’ Stories Activities: Student Leadership Council President, Model United Nations Co-Head Delegate, Gay-Straight Alliance Co-President, Big Brother Program, CFX Ecuador, CFX Dominican Republic Favorite Xavier Memory: “Winning the presidency of Xavier High School’s student body.” A Memory of Justin: “Ever since freshman year, Justin has been an active member of the Student Leadership Council, voicing the concerns of his constituents. That only grew when he became president. He wanted to best serve his peers, and he did a very good job.” – Alicia Psillos, Math Teacher and Student Leadership Council Moderator
people to the conversation or have dialogue. There’s obviously time for that in practice or in preparation, but in a game-time situation you don’t always have that. You have to be confident in your decision and be able to convey it to your teammates. That’s something unique about leading in sports that you don’t get in other areas a lot of times. Cilmi: The only way that you’re able to be confident with your decisions is if your guys have trust in you. And that’s a big thing at Xavier, in sports, and in anything—you have to have trust. And Xavier has trust in all of us, especially those of us sitting around this table. They want students to succeed. They have faith and trust in you. In sports, if your buddies are in shambles because they don’t know what to do, and you come in and pick them up, they’ll be there to respond with you. And I feel all of us have done that in our own way.
Mulvena: It’s definitely easy to be blinded by your viewpoints on certain issues, especially when you have two kids from different backgrounds at a high school in the middle of New York City. It’s hard to stay composed at times, so you have to learn to slow things down and realize the larger scope of the discussion you are having. Park: One of my biggest challenges as a leader is taking responsibility for my peers. In clubs and certain activities, if you are in a leadership position, it’s your job to manage everybody. On top of that, you have to make sure that you are holding your ground and thinking about other people.
DeWitt: What kind of challenges have you faced during your time at Xavier?
Blake: One of my challenges is dealing with people who are my polar opposite. It’s been great to be able to say, “You’re a human being. I respect your beliefs.” Because you deal with so many people at so many different points in their lives, you have to pause for a second. You’re going to get frustrated, but how you deal with that is going to be one of the most important things you leave here with.
Westbrook-Lowery: The biggest challenge I have ever faced is the idea that there are just people who do not agree with you. You are bound to have that issue because people come to their convictions through different experiences. But you still have to understand that there is a common goal. We are all trying to make the world a better place.
Kendrick-Holmes: Something that’s been hard for me is overcoming my own inhibitions when it comes to new situations. It’s something that I’ve worked to overcome, but something that I’m still working on because sometimes it’s hard for me to look within myself and see what my shortcomings are. But as we talked about, leadership is all about personal development.
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