At 19, I became SGA Vice President and Editor-in-Chief of the community college newspaper, both at the same time.
"I had TITLES!"
I had barely spoken or made eye contact in high school classes. So naturally, my ego exploded like a popped kernel.
At the newspaper, I made my byline font huge. I wrote all the good stories and handed everyone else the leftovers. In SGA, every announcement, every meeting, every decision somehow became the "Butch Show."
But it didn't take long for a reckoning. The newspaper advisor finally pulled me into his office and said, point blank: "Reign in the ego or you're out."
That conversation was brutal. And exactly what I needed.
I learned the hard way that real leadership isn't about making everything about you. It's about lifting other people up, sharing credit, and remembering the titles are temporary — the impact you leave behind doesn't have to be.
If a scared, inexperienced 19-year-old could course-correct, you can too.
Butch Oxendine
Executive Director, ASGA