Footnotes - Fall 2022 - 24

Building
LEADERSHIP
AZCPM ACFAS President
and President-Elect
By Zachery Goguen, AZCPM Class of 2025
At this point in the journey through
medical school, whether as a new first
year or a grinding third year, it is likely that
there are several options for involvement
on campus. Taking on a leadership
role during podiatry school may seem
appealing to some and daunting to
others. Either way, there is no doubt that
there are many benefits to this type of
experience, but what should students
know before making a move into the
available student leadership positions?
I am the president-elect of the American
College of Foot and Ankle Surgery
(ACFAS) chapter at the Arizona College
of Podiatric Medicine (AZCPM). I recently
sat down with the current president,
Dylan Mariano, and spoke with him
regarding his views on leadership and
the benefits to holding similar student
leadership positions.
WHAT IS LEADERSHIP?
To understand a role in leadership,
we must first discuss what leadership
means. " The meaning of leadership isn't
so much being in charge of people, but
rather transferring your own expertise,
your own knowledge and abilities in a
24 footnotes
way that facilitates others to learn or
accomplish their goals, " Dylan noted.
In other words, leadership is not barking
commands or telling others what to do
as you supervise, but rather bringing
students together in a cohesive way that
facilitates their experiential learning.
This doesn't mean that leadership
is all about giving, but it can also
provide immense benefits to yourself.
" Leadership is something that can provide
a huge number of opportunities to
organize events, make sure students are
enjoying their time in school, and build a
community of people interacting together
in activities that suit their interests. "
WHAT IS YOUR ROLE? HOW CAN
YOU MAKE THE MOST OF IT?
When asked what advice he would
give to incoming students, or those
transitioning into a leadership role, Dylan
stressed the importance of knowing
your role. For instance, the president
of the journal club won't necessarily
be organizing college-wide events, but
" nobody will look at that role and ask
why you didn't do things like that. Rather,
they will look to whether you created
an experience for the club members
in a way that facilitated their learning
and allowed them to discuss current
literature. " There are larger positions
that include broader responsibilities,
and there are smaller positions with
well-defined roles that rarely stray from
that definition. What matters is not what
position you held, but rather, did you
meet or exceed what was expected?
Additionally, try not to limit yourself to
these well-demarcated positions with
" flashy " names. Not every student will
be interested in holding a presidential
position, but not every leadership role
requires such a title. " Research is a
leadership role, " Dylan adds. " If you
are really interested in research, spend
your time doing research. This is a huge
leadership opportunity that often gets
overlooked, because it doesn't have
that well defined position title, but it is,
because you are leading your field in
developing new perspectives and new
information. " Volunteer at the soup
kitchen, clean your local park. These
are all leadership positions that don't
necessarily present as " leadership
positions " , and yet they all show you as a
leader in your community to facilitate the
experiences of others. " Don't limit your
leadership to the definition of what a club
president does, but rather what impact
you have on the people around you. "
Footnotes - Fall 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Footnotes - Fall 2022
