Leadership Beyond Boundaries

A career at the service of International students at The L.A. Film School

I never wanted to be a leader. If I am being honest, I used to find that title pompous and the people who called themselves leaders arrogant. That stigma was a result of my own erroneous definition of a leader, which I equated to someone with a false sense of superiority. When I unexpectedly found myself in the role of a leader, I had to depart from my initial belief that humility and leadership could not co-exist.
 

My first introduction to the role of a leader was quite circumstantial. I was an international college student who had just landed a full scholarship to Monmouth College, which was a whopping 5,000 miles from my home in Senegal. Those that I grew up with can attest to my reserved and shy nature in my earlier years. I was the invisible and introverted child who was left behind by camp monitors, the fly on the wall that no one ever noticed, the silent pupil, too shy to raise her hand to ask for permission to use the loo.

So, when I announced to my family that I was moving to the United States to pursue a degree in speech communications, the incredulous look on their faces was something I expected. I had made the decision to face my fears and finally break the chains of introversion that had held me hostage for so many years.

In Monmouth, I found myself surrounded by people who had never been in the presence of an inquisitive African woman, polyglot, multicultural, majoring in speech communications. And then everything clicked: I vowed to translate these differences into a 2-way learning opportunity. My audience was in front of me.

In exchange for my room and board fees, I wholeheartedly agreed to share my experiences growing up in Senegal with the Monmouth College community in hopes of opening a constructive dialogue between different cultures. The success of that program prompted my benefactors to expand the initiative to local middle and high schools, where I was asked the most benevolent questions such as, “do you have ice cream in Africa? Wouldn’t it melt due to the excessive heat?” That experience, coupled with the iron-clad support I received from my faculty mentor, empowered me in ways even my speech communications courses did not teach me how to fully express. I gave a voice to an unknown nation and in doing so, I found my own voice.

I conveyed positivity, I touched hearts, I inspired humility, I built confidence within myself and others, and I shared my passion for learning. Through this experience, I realized leadership has nothing to do with being superior. To lead, is to empower others to create their own learning opportunities in every situation encountered.

More than two decades later, with a master’s in education under my belt to complement my bachelor’s in Speech Communications from Monmouth College, I have settled into the world of higher educational leadership. I currently work as the Director of Student Advising at The Los Angeles Film School, my employer for the past 11 and a half years. In my team of seven, we each have an appellation that best describes our individual persona, and so, I am proud to introduce the Guide, the Ally, the Advocate, the Motivator, the Team Member, the Encourager, and the Supporter. I motivate my team to put forth their strengths while continuously working on improving their weaknesses. This practice has helped us build a strong foundation and keep a solid balance in our approach to academic advisement.

Everyone in my team is cross-trained and capable of effectively performing all intradepartmental tasks, however, I have identified an “expert” in each of the core competencies of academic advising within my team members, giving them each the opportunity to train their peers and create new learning opportunities.

When advising our students, we go beyond solving issues on their behalf. We motivate our students and provide them with tools and resources that foster effective and efficient learning habits for long-term academic success.

Being a Los Angeles Film School student means belonging to a community of outstanding content creators fully supported by a diverse staff.  We foster student leadership through our Student of the Month program. Each elected Student of the Month must demonstrate the ability to motivate and guide their peers toward the achievement of individual or collective goals. Inclusive activities and clubs are created to target the needs of specific student groups while encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration.

My special bond with international students places me in the perfect role of mentor and advocate. There is no stone left unturned when it comes to providing international students with the right resources to get acclimated to their new environment. I was once given a voice as an international student and today, I pass the baton to my mentees who are celebrated annually during our well acclaimed Multicultural Celebration.

As my son likes to say “sharing is caring”; sharing knowledge and leading by example have positioned me as a leader at the Los Angeles Film School and in the same token, allowed me to build a learning culture within my team and the LAFS student community.  

Author Bio

Yacine Ndao, M.Ed., is the Director of Student Advising and the ADA Coordinator at The Los Angeles Film School. She is an experienced student mentor with an enthusiasm to inspire students and to expedite progress by introducing new ideas to achieve both student and school objectives. In addition to her passion of guiding and mentoring international students, she has also mentored US Army soldiers in Vicenza, Italy.