Poster featuring me used for our campaign, displayed at my school.

As I began my third year of secondary school, I was elected as Vice Chairman. It is important to emphasize that with the privilege of leading came a plenty of responsibilities. I needed to learn how to work on a tight schedule, how to introduce changes that benefit both students and teachers. And much more. This opportunity to learn new ways of leading is something that I will be forever grateful for.

• Attending meetings of school councils in Kraków.

One of the things I bring to the table is my ability to socialize and communicate effortlessly with people. Whenever a meeting between schools in Kraków was organized I made sure to attend and represent my school as best as I possibly could. By doing so I was able to meet a lot of fellow individuals interested in strengthening the cooperation between schools. Usually these meetings revolved around organizing interscholastic events, such as sports competitions, talent shows, networking events. These meetings were usually held every one to two months.

• Obtaining discounts for my school community.

One of the tasks that I have been fulfilling has been convincing managers of gyms, coffee shops, restaurants and other facilities located in proximity of my school, to provide us with discounts. I was able to persuade a great deal of small local businesses, to big companies (such as Costa Coffee or Starbucks) to reduce their prices or membership fees for people of my community. It has taught me a lot about how businesses operate, and in which cases it is worthwhile to enter into such agreements for the owner.

• Student exchange.

Another experience I consider to be worth mentioning is my participation in a student exchange. I traveled to a small city in England. There I stayed with a family I had not met beforehand. It was my first real challenge of not being able to communicate with anyone in my native language. When I reminisce about that experience, it makes me very content that I chose to take part in it.

• Volunteer experience.

Throughout my time in secondary school, I volunteered in various events. These activities ranged from sending parcels to people in need living in different cultural settings and countries, to playing music or collecting money by encouraging others to help. I have always considered myself to be very fortunate in life. I am luck enough to have a loving family, many opportunities and a very good life. Nevertheless, I did not fail to realize that there are people living very differently. I always try to give a helping hand and remain empathetic.