Senior Grant Viscardis has been selected as the Student Leader of the Month for October 2023. Originally from Hot Springs, Viscardis came to the U of A to study biology.

He is the president for EMPOWER RSO, leads the Global Brigades to Panama as the medical chairman, volunteers at the Full Circle Food Pantry, a Patient Care Technician at CHI St. Vincent Hospital in Hot Springs and is a research assistant in assistant professor Joisah Leong's FullStackNeuro Lab addressing the causation of substance use and early life stress on the mesolimbic pathway in the brain. Viscardis is also a member of the Sigma Nu Fraternity.

Viscardis said he got involved in these organizations mainly to learn how to network and communicate with others while expressing his deepest passions. 

"I've loved meeting everyone through these organizations, and I feel as if it will also benefit my future to do so," he said. "As a transfer student, I didn't know very many people and felt the urge to get out of my shell to make meaningful relationships with people."

Viscardis believes the most important qualities of a leader are organization and integrity. 

"Without organization, everything will be discombobulated and unclear to others, and nothing will be finished," Viscardis said. "Integrity, because whenever it comes down to making choices, you are the leader and must do what is right even when you could easily do the wrong thing and get away with it. It will catch up in the end and when it does it will hurt."

His advice to other student leaders is to never make enemies over arguments. 

"Sometimes you will be wrong and accept it," he said. "Other times you will be right, but an argument isn't worth losing a friendship over it."

Viscardis was his own mentor. 

"Being a transfer student, I matured through being in multiple different environments. This motivated me to be a selfless individual while also attempting to help the people around me," Viscardis said. "Because of this, I didn't ever have a mentor, rather my mentor was my own self-motivation to succeed."

His favorite leadership quote is "Leadership is not about the titles, positions or flowcharts, but rather the influence you have on others as a leader."

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. More information about the award can be found here.