My name is Sylvester Spence, and I’ve been accepted to Tulsa Welding School in Jacksonville, Florida. I’m excited to train for a hands-on career where I can apply focus, precision, and discipline to real-world projects. My long-term goal is to become a certified welder, gain experience in the field, and eventually take on leadership roles in industrial or construction settings. I’m ready to learn from every opportunity—good or bad—to become the best tradesman I can be. In my junior year of high school, I was part of a small group in our shop class that was tasked with building a metal bike rack for the school. At first, I was excited and stepped up to lead the group. I assigned roles, set deadlines, and tried to keep everything moving forward. I was confident that if I stayed on top of everything, we’d finish ahead of schedule and impress the instructor. But things didn’t go as planned. I didn’t take enough time to listen to the team’s ideas or concerns. One member tried to tell me the measurements I gave him didn’t match the blueprint, but I brushed it off, assuming he’d made a mistake. Turns out, I was the one who misread the plans. We wasted an entire day cutting and welding parts that didn’t fit. That mistake set us back and created tension in the group. Morale dropped, and we started rushing to make up for lost time, which led to even more mistakes like sloppy welds, missed safety steps, and poor communication. In the end, we did finish the rack, but it wasn’t something we were proud of. Our teacher used it as an example of why leadership has to be about listening, not just directing. Looking back, I see where I went wrong. If I could do it over, I would slow down, double-check plans with my teammates, and create a more open environment where everyone felt comfortable speaking up. That experience was humbling, but it taught me a lesson I’ll carry with me into Tulsa Welding School and beyond: real leadership means making space for the whole team to succeed, not just being the loudest voice in the room.