Senior Madison Tschirhart has been selected as the Student Leader of the Month for October 2022. Tschirhart decided to stay in her hometown, Fayetteville, and attend the U of A to study communications, sociology and criminology. She currently holds two jobs on campus as a student-athlete learning assistant and a student liaison for the Student Success Center. Tschirhart also volunteers regularly on campus with student programs such as Cardinal Nights.

Tschirhart said she got involved in these organizations because she has a strong passion to help where she can. She enjoys the volunteer programs that are hosted at the U of A, especially because of how well coordinated they are. She said she likes how many diverse opportunities there are to help others. Tschirhart's jobs have also been very accommodating to her class schedule and intellectually stimulating. 

Tschirhart believes that some of the most important qualities and characteristics of leaders are integrity, self-awareness, sincerity and empathy. To her, doing the right thing when nobody is watching is an integral part of being a leader. 

"Integrity builds trust, and that trust builds strong relationship foundations, and the rest goes from there," she said. "Self-awareness is key to being a leader because it shows that you know what kind of messages you are sending to the people around you and how to control those messages. Effectively constructed and executed messages are essential to building a purpose within the group. Sincerity allows people the freedom to focus on important tasks at hand, and it encourages trust building, much like integrity. Empathy is also very important because it builds those interpersonal relationships that bond groups of people together and create a more genuine and respectful working environment." 

Her advice to other student leaders is to learn how to use the cards in your own deck and not compare them to what you don't have.

"Everyone has the potential to be a leader in one context or another. If you can learn to use your own skills to the best of your ability, while being realistic about what you do not exemplify, you are taking a step in the right direction as a leader." 

Tschirhart also advises to read the room around you. She says that as a leader, you must trust, respect, encourage and empower those around you in a way that is efficient but also considerate. In other words, learn to work with the people around you to get the project done while still being respectful of their humanity.

While she has had a lot of mentors, she would like to thank Lynn Meade, an instructor in the Department of Communication. 

"I get to attend a couple of her classes a week to assist in class discussions and listen in on her lectures. They always inspire me to think about things in a different way," she said. "We regularly meet to talk about the content discussed in class, and I always find this to be very refreshing and invigorating. Every time I leave her office, I am left with the inspiration to do better and to be better. I look up to her as a professor and as a person!"

The Student Leader of the Month Award, sponsored by New Student & Family Programs, recognizes U of A undergraduate students for their excellence in leadership through campus involvement, leadership activities, or through volunteer and community service. Find out more information about the award.