Leaving a Lasting Legacy With Dave Conlon

Society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they will never sit.

Several years ago, my wife was instrumental in creating a comprehensive

activity program at our children’s elementary school. In fact, she was still

running events as a volunteer after all our kids had graduated. Many

parents and kids thought she was a full-time staff because of the hours she

put in and the events that were run. However, now that she is gone, none

of these things happen at that school, and only a couple staff members

would even know her name. My wife never intended to create a legacy, but

instead, she created lasting memories for the kids and staff who were at

the school when all of this was happening under her efforts and leadership.

A leadership student of mine left an almost invisible, tangible legacy at

Elmira District Secondary School. In her final year, she observed that we

did not have enough microwaves in the cafeteria to serve the student

population efficiently for lunch. She made it her mission to have a new

station installed. One would think that this would be a fairly easy task, but

she was totally unaware of the bureaucratic jungle she was entering. After

a frustrating couple of months navigating the myriad levels of procedure

and permission, a new electric plug was installed, and the proper

microwave was purchased. It is over ten years later, and there is still a

microwave and plug existing to serve the students of EDSS and yet nobody

knows the effort it took to place it there.

A second leadership student wanted to restart an event that had been

successful at the school in the years that her siblings attended but had

fallen by the wayside because of lack of interest and effort. Through a lot of

effort and cooperation, she brought back the Tin Man Triathlon – not

because she was a triathlete – but because she knew it was a great event

that would make the school a better place for all. The event started small

but grew to involve high schools from the region and beyond. This event is

still running long after this student had graduated, and it has survived the

COVID chaos that killed many traditions and events. It has continued

because certain people see it as a necessary part of the culture of the

school and put the effort into keeping it alive each year.

It is believed that one mark of success for leaders is leaving a legacy.

However, it is very clear that you cannot leave a legacy because your

personal goal is to “leave a legacy.”

Your mission as a leader is to plant seeds that will grow and flourish into

the future. The growth of these diverse seeds depends entirely on the

current “whether” and school climate. However, you have no control over

the “whethers” of the future – Whether people will continue to support your

initiatives or programs – Whether physical changes will be made to the

things you put in place – whether the event is still resonant with school

culture.

A lasting legacy can be tangible, traditional, or a solid memory for the

students and staff of a school. Your natural goal as a student leader is

simply to make your school a better place for all who attend and will attend

your building in the future.