{"id":76675,"date":"2025-09-07T13:20:35","date_gmt":"2025-09-07T17:20:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/?p=76675"},"modified":"2026-07-25T15:17:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T19:17:11","slug":"turn-student-leader-skills-to-superpowers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/2025\/09\/07\/turn-student-leader-skills-to-superpowers\/","title":{"rendered":"Advising Student Leaders: 5 Ways to Turn Skills Into Superpowers"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"et_pb_section_0 et_pb_section et_section_regular et_block_section\"><div class=\"et_pb_row_0 et_pb_row et_block_row\"><div class=\"et_pb_column_0 et_pb_column et_pb_column_4_4 et-last-child et_block_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough\"><div class=\"et_pb_text_0 et_pb_text et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_module et_block_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><p>Dear Educators,<\/p>\n<p>If I could share just one thing with every advisor, counselor, coach, mentor, and everyone who works with student leaders... it would be this:\u00a0<strong>remind your student leaders that leadership is not a title, it\u2019s a responsibility.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The skills they\u2019re building (communication, organization, empathy) are like superpowers. And superpowers aren\u2019t meant to be stored away; they\u2019re meant to be used for the good of others. When you advise, I encourage you to focus less on the \u201cwhat\u201d and more on the \u201cwhy.\u201d It\u2019s not just about the dance, the pep rally, or the event. It\u2019s about the purpose behind it all. Push your leaders to see beyond the event and into the impact. That\u2019s where true growth happens.<\/p>\n<p><b>Ask them:\u00a0<em>Who will feel seen, heard, or supported because of this? How will our school be better because we chose to act?<\/em><\/b><\/p>\n<h4><strong>Top Tips for Advising Student Leaders\u00a0<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>1.<b>\u00a0Shift the focus from \u201cwhat\u201d to \u201cwhy.<\/b>\u201d Help students see the impact behind every action, not just the activity itself.<\/p>\n<p>2.\u00a0<b>Model the behavior you want to see.\u00a0<\/b>Show your leaders that kindness, empathy, and service are lived values, not slogans.<\/p>\n<p>3.\u00a0<b>Encourage empathy-driven leadership.\u00a0<\/b>Urge them to reach out to those who are different, and to build bridges instead of walls.<\/p>\n<p>4<b>. Celebrate small wins.<\/b>\u00a0Growth happens in the daily moments; acknowledge them often.<\/p>\n<p>5.<b>\u00a0Push for courage.<\/b>\u00a0Remind students that leadership is about doing what\u2019s right, especially when it\u2019s hard.<b><\/b><\/p>\n<p>And remind them to lead with empathy. To intentionally reach out to the students who look, sound, or are different from them. To work with those they may not always agree with, because the goal of leadership isn\u2019t to be the leader of a few, or even many. It\u2019s to be the leader of all.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, they\u2019ll learn this best if they see it in you first. Be better. Model it. Show them that kindness and service aren\u2019t just Spirit Week slogans, they\u2019re a way of life. Celebrate the small wins. Teach them to listen as much as they speak. Encourage them to lead with courage, especially when it\u2019s hard.<\/p>\n<p>Because when students are leaders who get this right, they don\u2019t just change schools. They change communities. And by extension, they change the world.<\/p>\n<p>So here\u2019s to the school staff who pour their hearts into shaping leaders who fight forward. Leaders who don\u2019t settle for \u201cgood enough,\u201d but who call us all to something greater. This school year, may you remind your students (and yourself) that leadership is never about the spotlight. It\u2019s about shining the light on others.<\/p>\n<p>With gratitude,<br \/>Carlos \u201cChu\u201d Ojeda Jr.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":83248,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[116,119,112,68,1],"tags":[],"formats":[],"class_list":["post-76675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-professional-development","category-student-engagement","category-student-leadership","category-students","category-uncategorized"],"dsm_author":{"name":"Carlos Ojeda Jr.","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/46a8fae77ee9e339365595ba0485e27ca5e74f3ed2bb61b1ebdd48f03003724d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","archive_link":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/author\/carlosojedajr\/","biodata":"<em>Empowerment Speaker &amp; Expert, Author, and CoolSpeak CEO<\/em>\r\nCarlos Ojeda Jr. is a nationally acclaimed speaker, educator, and youth development expert with over 25 years of experience inspiring students, parents, and educators. As the founder of CoolSpeak, the nation\u2019s leading youth engagement company, Carlos combines his passion for education with his entrepreneurial spirit to empower the next generation."},"dsm_categories":[{"term_name":"Professional Development","term_id":116,"term_link":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/category\/professional-development\/"},{"term_name":"Student Engagement","term_id":119,"term_link":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/category\/student-engagement\/"},{"term_name":"Student Leadership","term_id":112,"term_link":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/category\/student-leadership\/"},{"term_name":"Students","term_id":68,"term_link":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/category\/students\/"},{"term_name":"Uncategorized","term_id":1,"term_link":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/category\/uncategorized\/"}],"dsm_attachment_categories":[],"dsm_featured_image":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Chu-student-leader-skills-150x150.png","medium":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Chu-student-leader-skills-300x105.png","medium_large":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Chu-student-leader-skills-768x269.png","large":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Chu-student-leader-skills-1024x358.png","1536x1536":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Chu-student-leader-skills-1536x538.png","2048x2048":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Chu-student-leader-skills.png","et-pb-post-main-image":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Chu-student-leader-skills-400x250.png","et-pb-post-main-image-fullwidth":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Chu-student-leader-skills-1080x630.png","et-pb-portfolio-image":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Chu-student-leader-skills-400x284.png","et-pb-portfolio-module-image":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Chu-student-leader-skills-510x382.png","et-pb-portfolio-image-single":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Chu-student-leader-skills-1080x378.png","et-pb-gallery-module-image-portrait":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Chu-student-leader-skills-400x516.png","et-pb-post-main-image-fullwidth-large":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Chu-student-leader-skills.png","et-pb-image--responsive--desktop":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Chu-student-leader-skills-1280x448.png","et-pb-image--responsive--tablet":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Chu-student-leader-skills-980x343.png","et-pb-image--responsive--phone":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Chu-student-leader-skills-480x168.png","gform-image-choice-sm":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Chu-student-leader-skills.png","gform-image-choice-md":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Chu-student-leader-skills.png","gform-image-choice-lg":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Chu-student-leader-skills.png","woocommerce_thumbnail":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Chu-student-leader-skills-300x105.png","woocommerce_single":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Chu-student-leader-skills-600x210.png","woocommerce_gallery_thumbnail":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Chu-student-leader-skills-100x100.png","full":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Chu-student-leader-skills.png"},"dsm_comment_count":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76675"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76675\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76675"},{"taxonomy":"post_format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fxv.digital\/cool\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/formats?post=76675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}