The ASC Leadership Major has its first alumnus! Congratulations to Kethan Mokadam on graduating earlier this summer!

Kethan spoke with our student ambassador, Chase Skillman, about the major, his experiences, and what comes next.

Chase: What made you choose to pursue the Leadership Major? 

Kethan: I chose Leadership, specializing in Civil Rights and Social Justice because of the interdisciplinary focus. I was asked to analyze many of the issues I am passionate about from a variety of angles, yet with the same end goal. I have always felt a natural draw to leadership, but spending the time to identify the concepts, systems, and relationships that enabled the most famous (and infamous) leaders has been invaluable.

Chase: What are some experiences and skills you have developed through leadership?

Kethan: The leadership major has provided me a greater appreciation and understanding of the intricacies that make up social and systemic construction, and the impact leaders (and followers) can have within them...

The in-class discussions with my classmates have allowed me to engage with an extremely wide variety of perspectives and beliefs across the hundreds of majors within the College of Arts and Sciences. The ability to make meaningful connections with new people is vital to successful leaders, and a skill I was able to hone regularly.

The senior capstone project was simultaneously one of the most difficult and most rewarding parts of my experience. I chose to analyze leadership through the lens of music, combining a lifelong passion and my academic interests to provide a unique perspective on their many similarities. In doing so, I was forced to consider both in new ways, a difficult process through which I became exponentially more competent in making explicit the conceptual overlap I saw.

Chase: How will you use the Leadership major beyond college?

Kethan: In the major, I was fortunate enough to learn from professors across Philosophy, History, Political Science, and many more. I saw how leadership surrounds us, yet it is seemingly always needed. As such, I know that the countless take-away lessons from each class will always be relevant to my career, no matter what I am doing. As I continue my academic career in the Masters of Social Work program at University of Denver, I hope to continue to develop my own abilities as a leader, and work to make the world a more equitable place for all. 

Congrats again, Kethan!