Veterans in Global Leadership Reminded me that we are Stronger Together

When I look at where I came from, the trailer-park I called home in the deep South, the rows of failing grades on my high school transcripts, the overwhelming smell of hand sanitizer through the lonely walk out of the ICU moments after losing my mother to a month-long battle against injuries sustained from a head-on collision car accident, and the subsequent trips to the courthouse for custody hearings, to where I am today, I struggle with feelings of imposter syndrome. I now know that I am not alone in that feeling. And now, thanks to my experience at the VGL Leadership Summit, I am convinced this is not just a coincidence that we are here. We are supposed to be here and it is nice to know I am not alone.

I arrived early and the conference room was empty, except those who were helping to set up. I walked over to an unassuming man erecting a VGL poster and introduced myself. “Hey how you doing brother, I’m Wesley Wilson and I just wanted to make sure I am in the right place.” He replied, “Jayson Browder, nice to meet you. Your nametag is on the table with the others.” I ambled my way over to the table, making a pitstop to grab a desperately needed cup of coffee, and looked for my nametag. I felt a sense of pride as I scanned over the other universities listed on the nametags before grabbing my Fordham labeled nametag; Columbia, Harvard, Georgetown, Syracuse, and the list goes on.

I chose an arbitrary seat and began reading the agenda for the day, trying to avoid human contact until the caffeine kicked in as more of the other fellows trickled in. I began meeting my fellows once I felt myself coming back to life. I didn’t feel the social anxiety during introductions with my fellows that I often feel when meeting new people in New York City. Everything flowed and within a few hours we were bantering each other back and forth about the prestigiousness of our schools and whose service branch was better than the others. For some reason, Fordham and the Army seemed to continually win banter competitions.

The summit launched with stories of success from past VGL fellows. Many of the previous VGL fellows had become Fulbright Scholars, Truman Scholars, Presidential Management Fellows, and the list goes on and on. As I took notes, my hand started to ache trying to keep up with the endless stream of usable advice they were so generously willing to provide. Looking at the agenda, I saw university presidents, chief operating officers, and non-profit founders listed as speakers. I wanted to meet them all individually because I had so many questions on a number of topics that I knew they could answer.

For example, Peter Kiernan, a George Mitchell Scholar, is the youngest Marine raider in the history of the Marine Special Forces Operations Command. I had to know how he overcame his age in his ascension to success, something I struggled with as a twenty-year-old sergeant when everyone told me, “You are too young to lead soldiers!”

Scott Cooper, the Director of National Security at Human Rights First, has a talent for using the perfect amount of words poetically to get his point across. After hearing from Mark Newsome, Associate Partner at IBM, I would have followed him anywhere simply based on his presence.

All of the speakers were unique in their own way, but the one speaker in-particular that solidified my opinion of VGL was former president of New York University, John Sexton. He is not a man who immediately catches your attention were you to pass him on the street, dressed in his tennis shoes, jeans, and an NYU polo shirt. In fact, he reminded me in many of ways of my grandfather, minus the PhDs, law degrees, and unmatched resume. Then he began to speak.

The room was filled with some of the most educated and qualified veterans working today, many with twenty plus years of work experience and doctorate degrees, but when John Sexton started speaking, we all were stripped of our degrees and titles and devolved into high-school students. He was a storytelling connoisseur, using his love for music and language to tell his story. “Education comes from a latin word ‘educere,’ which means to lead out of. Students only need to taste the notes they can’t play, curiosity takes over from there.”

In the middle of his story, his phone rang and he pulled out an outdated flip-phone an exclaimed, “Hello!” There was no answer. He hung up and continued his lecture as if nothing happened. Never once, not even during the phone call did he lose the focus or attention of his audience. He didn’t beat his chest or mention any one of the thousands of incredible accomplishments I am sure he could have, he only told a story. Thirty-two speakers followed John and as each shared their story and imparted wisdom, I knew VGL was more than I had assumed it would be.

But, the incredible stories told by John Sexton, and the advice given by the thirty plus other speakers, was only part of the benefit of this fellowship. The real benefit of the fellowship comes from the fellows themselves. The way in which we were always able to pepper in amusement while also being serious throughout the day brought me back to my time in the Army. In between exchanging best-leadership practices, my cohort and I vigorously debated light hearted topics such as how, based on the name, one wouldn’t assume that the Cheesecake Factory is also a restaurant. (Perhaps it was only me arguing this point, since I just recently discovered that the Cheesecake Factory served more than deserts — something my new fellows wouldn’t allow me to live down). We also shared stories from our time in the service, the would-be bakery , and where we were going to go out to that night.

As I left the Summit, my impostor syndrome had all but abated. I was a long way from the trailer park in the deep South, failing grades, and the loss of my mother. My time in the military and post-secondary education have endued me the skill set and experience to rise up to the mantle of national leadership and my experience at the VGL Leadership Summit confirmed that I belong here!

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