Hello could you please review my essay Question 1 for Chevening award. Any comments are highly appreciated.  
  
Leadership & Influence question  
**Chevening is looking for individuals that will be future leaders or influencers in their home countries. Explain how you meet this requirement, using clear examples of your own leadership and influencing skills to support your answer.**  
  
"You manage things; you lead people (Grace Murray Hopper)". This quote best describes my perception of the meaning of leader and influencer because I feel that a person who manages things well can be a future leader. Writing this essay I do not want to prove that I am the only one with best leadership and influence skills but I believe that I have big potential inside to develop these skills further based on my previous career and personal experience that helped me to achieve whatever I have so far.  
  
I think that leadership is close to independency in decision making process. I made my choice to study finance and accounting at one of the best universities in my country despite the anticipated difficulties in study process. I graduated typical general high school in my country and did not have any sufficient background in math or other technical subjects in comparison to my peers at the university. I was so disappointed to receive low grades in my first semester but I did not give up because I believe that leaders will overcome any difficulties they face on their ways. I proved myself that I can study better and finally achieved outstanding academic results. I graduated as one of the best students in my batch with excellent academic performance.  
  
After graduation the next big responsibility was choosing your future professional path and I strongly believe that good leaders are not afraid of trying new areas for development and improvement. I was not afraid to choose education as my first professional start in the career, to experience things I never learnt before and to discover new qualities in me. My leading skills helped me in many ways. I was learning everything at work by doing it. In other words I challenged to work in the unknown sphere for me, IT industry, and succeeded in managing it. With the help of my leadership and influential skills the managing master's programmes at the University progressed and prospered in the way to set example for others. I was brave enough to take responsibilities in managing many projects at my department. Lately I was in charge to conduct institutional accreditation procedures at the University and finally received a 5 year certificate of accreditation from local quality assurance agency.  
  
Being a good influencer in my area I was able to convince people to give me the chance to start teaching career this year. Despite the doubtful thoughts I overcame my fear and I have the great opportunity now to share my knowledge with young generation and learn new things myself. I hope that my leadership and influence skills will elaborate more since I will contribute in new business projects that pursue the goal of changing academic and non-academic support services at the university. Moreover I will face a new challenge to commence with obtaining a new bachelor program and I am confident that my leadership qualities as bravery, challenge, and learning will enable to achieve my goals.