Desire Baranshamaje

My will and leadership trait were shaped by my personal history (second chance at life), my very culturally diverse family, and my academic and career aspirations. I consider myself lucky to be alive and having had a second chance at life after losing my parents and larger family to ethnic killings of Tutsis in Burundi in 1993. I was born in 1992 in Bukirasazi, a village in the center of Burundi. The name I was given, once born with was Desire Niyongabo. Niyongabo means “God is the greatest.” I never knew my biological parents.
I am an artist, and have a strong determined character. Ever since I can remember, I have always been building things from scratch with my hands. I am a visual person, I learn and understand better by seeing things. I am not the typical student who is good at memorizing text, school was never my thing growing up. I like being faced with all kinds of different types of challenges, academic, work, and life. A big challenge that I have been faced with; at an early age, i've had difficulties in school as I had a learning style which is not common. Teachers didn't really know what to do with me, so they wanted to put me in ESOL although I spoke perfect English as I had been in the country for 4 years already. I had a hard time learning to read because I didn't like to read as I was always busy inventing games and building things. I also changed language 3 times in a very short period of time, I spoke kirundi only until age 2, switched to French- french is the language spoken at home-and started 1st grade at the French school. I moved to Bethesda Elementary in second grade. I had barely started to make sense of the alphabet and discovered how to teach me to read, they wanted me to take books with lots of images and use them as aids. They also wanted me to make up stories, by looking at the pictures. This didn't help me at all, it slowed me down instead. The artist in me invented stories and found interest in the pictures not in the reading. This wrong start affected my progress for a while. Because of the difficulties I had with reading and math, teachers practically gave up on me. Even though they didn't say so specifically, I could sense it. This acted as an incentive for me. I worked so hard that I finally got straight “A's” in the last semester of 6th grade. The lesson learned from that experience is that anything is possible as long as you invest everything you go into it.

As long as I can remember, I always have been a quiet leader. I am the type of leader that speaks the least but is very influential in decisions and finding solutions without anybody understand how they always follow/go with my ideas. I have always been a leader on and off the soccer field. I lead by example and sheer determination. I respond and live for life to throw me challenges. I am very well known in my community (Bethesda, MD), at my job, family and friends as a leader and very dependable. When I am faced with an type of obstacle or challenge like faced with all kinds of different types of challenges; academic, work, and life, it sparks a sudden sense of intense motivation. I have always had a sense of need for achievement, desire to do something better or more efficiently, to solve problems, or to master complex tasks. I always try to involve myself with work that involves individual responsibility and to work with others, that involves achievable but challenging goals. I am a self conscious person and I am always trying to find ways to improve myself. I regularly analyse my strengths, as well as my weaknesses. Having this kind of character, it has made me a silent but very influential kind of leader. I believe that I possess all the key skills and attributes required to excel in your Honor Society. I hope to develop my leadership skills through being a Honor Society member by social networking and meeting community leaders.

Having had exceeded my fall 2015 objective which was to get more involved in school activities (step out of my comfort zone) now I am member of five school clubs: Tau Segma Honour Society, Political Science Student Organization, Council for Exceptional Children Vision, Student Event Board, and International Club. Also I have been holding a full time job as a Private Consultant Administrator & HR Coordinator for Avanti Athletics while being a full time student. By being well organised and keeping an ye on my objective I have been able to surpass my goals.

My future goal consists of obtaining my Associates in Liberal Arts from Montgomery College. My Bachelors in Political Science and Minor in Anthropology and Sociology from University of Maryland Baltimore County. Obtain Sustainability Letter of Recognition, Supervisory Letter of Recognition, Legal Analysis Letter of Recognition, Ethnic Social Studies Letter of Recognition Certificates from Montgomery College. I am on numerous website to find internship in the government especially focused on international affairs because correlates perfectly with what I want to do in the future. Being a person that has come from a unique background and has over come so many challenges in the academic life and has still the will to not give up and be able to adapt to what life throws at him, I believe is the essential type of person you are looking for and that can help your organization achieve desired goals and objectives.