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Worth up to $14,000 over four years of study, the CMU Leadership Scholarship is granted annually to high school graduates who demonstrate significant leadership ability, academic excellence, personal character, service, and vision.

This scholarship is in accordance with CMU's mission to make education affordable and accessible. Over 50% of CMU students receive financial support each year, covering students involved in all cross-program learning, such as, but not limited to, sciences, business, athletics, and music. Scholarships are awarded each year based on academic ability, and in 2023/24, students received over $720,000 in scholarships and bursaries.

Each year, the competitive Leadership Scholarship requires applicants to submit a résumé including their areas of leadership achievement, two nominations submitted on their behalf, and an essay detailing their own leadership values and what it means to be a leader in society.

Kylynn Forsyth

Kaylnn Forsyth wrote that a leader should be allowed to take on the characteristics of compassion, respect, and self-awareness. To Forsyth, a leader is shaped by their environment. She discusses her personal growth, "through the experience of sports and dance, I have learned that leadership is about taking initiative, making connections, and hopefully making an impact in others' lives."

Forsyth's essay highlights the challenges of leadership, reflecting on self-criticism and, especially as a young adult, feeling the weight of impostor syndrome.

"I am aware of the challenges that I face and am learning the importance of relying on a support system and surround myself with like-minded people. I am so thankful for my faith and how it has helped me to realize that I want to serve and help others," writes Forsyth.

Michah Arpin-Ricci

Micah Arpin-Ricci opened his essay with an epigraph citing Ralph Waldo Emmerson: "Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."

To Arpin-Ricci, his experience with soccer has taught him that leadership is seen in its ability to guide people to their goals. "Leadership is made for people who can handle the pressure of multiple responsibilities, not only taking care of themselves but also others," he wrote.

He emphasizes that environmental factors can turn people into leaders. As the only Black student in a class of 25 people, Arpin-Ricci says he found himself in situations where he needed to acknowledge racism and lead group discussions on police brutality; he says it was intimidating; staying silent would "avoid backlash, but true leadership requires courage."

"As a leader, you need to be honest and ensure justice for those you are leading."

"My years as a leader have just started," he writes. "And CMU will be able to help me grow into a better leader, whether on the field or in my classes."

Ethan Narine

Ethan Narine

As he enters the CMU community, Narine hopes to continue learning from other leaders and see it as a space where he can "grow not just as a leader but as a person."

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Sarah Boehm

Sarah Boehm

"The most important qualities for a leader to possess are resiliency, creativity, and empathy," states Sarah Boehm in her essay.

She writes that much of leadership means handling difficult situations and guiding others in how to work through those problems. Because of this, she states, leaders need to bounce back from those challenges and have the ability to cope mentally and emotionally with crises.

A creative leader, she writes, uses innovative ideas to pull a group together. Her experience leading a team of five people in developing a chemistry-inspired escape room for a science symposium required her to utilize a different side of her brain to approach running the event.

In addition, "[Leaders] have to create a supportive and caring environment for people to thrive and work to the best of their abilities," she writes. To Boehm, this fosters a trusting environment that supports mutual growth and development.