Before, she was quiet, missing that push to stop being a follower and start being a leader. The opportunity came when sophomore Bobbichrystena Hatchett was asked to join a new program for Texas High, Leader In Me. 

“When Mr. Anderson first sent me a letter to be in Leader In Me, I thought it was another Leadership club,” Hatchett said. “I thought it would be the same people in all the other clubs, lacking diversity.”

Though she had doubts, attending the first Leader In Me meeting showed her that this club was going to be different and better than what she envisioned. 

“When I went to the first meeting and noticed the minorities, I thought it could be something different than Leadership, something better,” Hatchett said.

Hatchett, like many others on campus, felt discouraged from joining the clubs that lead the school as they tend to be one race majority. Yet, Leader In Me wasn’t, a fact that helped Hatchett feel like her voice was going to be heard.  

“In every leading club, it’s always the same people, and by that I mean the same white people,” Hatchett said. “There’s no kind of diversity in the clubs, but in Leader In Me, it’s not a majority of white people. Instead there’s colored people. Because of that, I felt more accepted.”

It’s not uncommon for a club or a program to be created and fade away a few weeks later. Hatchett was quick to notice this wasn’t the case for Leader In Me. At the first meeting, in fact, she met with teachers to go over goals and plans.  

“The thing that interested me the most was when we actually got to speak our opinions to staff members,” Hatchett said. “Because at first it seemed like a bunch of talk but there would never be an end goal in mind or results. But then we chose projects and talked to staff members. That’s when I knew it was going to happen.”

Hatchett wants to remove the toxic ignorance that she sees throughout the school and get people to open up and reach out to other students, showing that students can express their ideas and respect each other, a mission she hopes to accomplish through Leader In Me.   

“Ignorance is very common here. We have so much diversity, but we’re not diverse,” Hatchett said. “Part of it’s our fault because we keep to our own groups, but we have to understand other people and respect them. It has to be a mutual agreement between both people, something that Leader In Me might be able to get done”

Hatchett’s main goal with this new program is to break the status quo, get rid of the stigma that certain kids are allowed to get their ideas heard but instead make it to where everyone’s ideas are voiced. 

“I wanna see more of the uninvolved people in more clubs and sports because we could use more people,” Hatchett said. “But we stick to our groups. It’s a tough change. We just need to get it where everyone can be accepted maybe not friends but respecting each other at least.”

Leader In Me’s goal is changing the overall environment. It’s a holistic change that will leave a lasting impact. Hatchett is adamant that in order for change to happen, everyone has to change, from staff to students. 

“I wanna see more teachers involved, wanting to change things up,” Hatchett said. “I wanna see more communication between staff members because it kinda starts there. We need a whole environment change if Leader In Me is going to work in this school.”

With Leader In Me, Hatchett is getting her chance to shape the school and introduce new ideas along with others. Her voice is being heard, and she is speaking her mind. 

“I’ve always been optimistic and looked at other points of view,” Hatchett said. “Going to Leader in Me and hearing all these other ideas that I couldn’t even think of has taught me that people think differently and see things in different ways. I’m glad I went to the first meeting. It’s gonna [make] an impact [on] this school.”