In Spring 2010, I entered the University of Illinois as a transfer student. 

What I once imagined in my head as an unfathomable place soon became a reality full of both frustration and promise. 

As an individual just getting my bearings, I was full of fear and anxiety having to work in a group to complete a large class assignment. To work with another is to put your trust in them to fulfill a shared responsibility. Here is where I first learned about the potential in collaboration: different voices and talents coming together to complete a larger mission.

Fast forward one year later when I was elected student body president. All of a sudden, my view changed as I moved from envisioning my own future to imagining the collective future of our campus. Through working with more organizations, we begin to tap into the true potential of leadership. Leadership, I feel we too often forget, is service. To serve with integrity, we must unlearn the separation and self-interest we have all been taught. To serve a diverse group of students means to understand their needs and break down barriers that divide them to build something larger — together.

Still I see how wide of a gap there is between an idealistic vision and a reality. What are the bricks we must lay down to collaborate between various stakeholders? I believe the foundation for pushing the boundaries of greatness for our University is found in building relationships. Rather than view issues from our own lens, we must start looking into our periphery; rather than seeing people as one-dimensional, we must look at the layers that make us all multi-dimensional. When we begin doing this, we stop seeing differences as barriers and we start seeing the similarities that can bind us together. If we identify common interests that strengthen our individual communities, we have the potential to strengthen the wider University of Illinois community.

Today as I prepare to finish my term as trustee, I am still engaging myself in collaborative opportunities days before graduation. While we strive to celebrate our similarities it is important to also capitalize on our differences. When different voices come together and express concerns from their own perspectives, we can have a more holistic picture. Our unique perspective adds depth to our efforts to improve the University of Illinois community. We offer different tools, resources, and the numbers necessary to amplify what might otherwise be a small minority’s ambition.

Each year on campus a reset button gets pressed and the next generation of student leaders prepare to leave their mark on our campus. Instead of reworking the wheel and starting anew, we need to pass down our knowledge and give emerging student leaders direction for meeting unchartered territory. Instead of us restarting let’s bring continuity to our voices, our work. Let’s make collaboration an Illini tradition.

David Pileski, 

former student trustee and senior in FAA.