Warwick’s most inspiring leaders: Meet the finalists for 2017
They’re the Moses to your flock
Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some go out of their way to have greatness thrust upon them.
We’ve scoured Warwick to find the people who, not fulfilled by mere lectures and Tuesday nights at Smack, have pushed themselves further to become something more.
They’ve created YouTube channels, campaigned for mental health and captained University Challenge.
You’ve probably already heard of them, or maybe they’ve influenced your life without you knowing it. Either way, you’re going to want to see who’s made the list.
Here are your most inspiring leaders of 2017.
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Arun Maini, runs Mrwhosetheboss YouTube Channel
3rd Year, Economics
What made you interested in starting a YouTube channel?
It started when I was 15 and having a tough time at school. It was at that time I got my first android smartphone and I got a bit obsessed with it. I was amazed by what it could do and wanted to understand everything about it. I spent a long time researching and learning everything.
Before long I became quite knowledgeable, and started to feel like I could genuinely help people. I set up my channel and everything went from there. On YouTube I review a lot of the phones, gadgets and tech that people buy in the shops, evaluating their pros and cons.
It’s all going surprisingly well. We’ve now become the second largest Tech YouTube Channel in the UK, with 70,000,000 views and 360,000 followers.
What does being a leader mean to you?
It’s the ability to inspire people and create a fire inside them.
A lot of people put comments on my videos with things like “you’ve inspired me to do this” or “I wouldn’t have done this without your inspiration”. I want to do more of that.
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What kind of leader are you?
The majority is me on my own – the hardest part of what I do is when you’re sitting in your room, drowning in university work, you’ve got commitment to family and friends and you have to remember to pick up your camera and go outside in the freezing cold and film. It’s managing your time and managing yourself.
I’m a Key Opinion Leader in the tech field, so a lot of what I do involves directing companies on how to make their products better, advising consumers on which items to purchase, and inspiring smaller channels to aim high and achieve.
What makes a good leader?
Respect. It’s really hard and I’m not saying I do it perfectly, but a great leader needs to be able to understand people on all levels and communicate with them accordingly.
What drives you?
My happiness and finding happiness.
Watching the channel grow is always satisfying, but after a certain point you realise no number of followers is going to make you happy. You just need to enjoy the journey.
Are you driven, ambitious and resilient?
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Naomi Hyde, President of Warwick Mind Aware
3rd Year, Physics
What made you want to become President of Warwick Mind Aware?
I’ve suffered with mental health issues in the past and I know quite a few people who have as well. I’m passionate about fighting the stigma of mental health and helping people with their issues, so when I joined university I got involved in the campaigning side.
As I became a more active member of the society I wanted to have a proper say in how things are run so I went for President in my third year. It’s not very hierarchical in the exec but I wanted to be the face of the society and the person people could come to for help. I also wanted to implement changes for the following years to make the society more sustainable and increase its membership.
What are the qualities of a good leader?
Delegation, not being a dictator, being open to new ideas and letting other people make decisions. A good leader is someone who lets the society grow from the new ideas of others rather than forcing it to fit into their exact vision.
What drives you?
Helping people and making a difference to people’s lives. I really enjoy volunteering and with Mind Aware I feel I’m helping a lot of people by campaigning against mental health stigma.
My involvement has also helped me with my mental health. This year I’ve started a discussion group to talk about topics around mental health and it’s always interesting to see that even though people have different mental illnesses, we all share a similar journey and similar thoughts. It makes me feel less alone.
I’m inspired by other people as well – how they’re progressing – and feel I can achieve that too.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I really want to work in the charity sector, either mental health or more generally. Making a positive difference, even if it’s something small, is how I’d like to spend my future.
Do you have big plans for the future?
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Paulietis Stasiulevičus, President of Warwick Model United Nations
2nd Year, Politics and International Studies
What made you want to be President of Warwick Model United Nations?
I’ve been involved with Model United Nations since 2012 and thought why not stick with something I’m good at and know I’m already interested in when I started at Warwick.
The United Nations community has a beautiful advantage among societies as it’s engaged in global issues, so I saw the potential to link the society with other organisations under the UN umbrella. This allowed our members to be heard about global issues, to understand what the United Nations is, and to be fully involved.
What makes a good leader?
The ability to set agenda based on a diversity of opinions, to guide a team to the finish point, overcome hard times and implement plan B when necessary.
You need to be able to put yourself in others’ shoes because as a leader you don’t want to look at your team as a powerhouse – a leader should see their team and themselves as an organic form.
A leader has to see their team not as workers but as actual people who have potential to grow and learn, and he has to have the ability to bring the best out of those people.
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What does being a leader mean to you?
For me it’s plain, easy, one sentence. “First one to lead and last one to fall”.
What kind of leader are you?
I believe in some form of hierarchy as I think people want to see the first input from the leader and the leader has to set an example, but regarding work related things your team members are leaders in their fields. You just understand how to connect them and create the best outcome.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I’d love to have a family, a house, a dog and a tree back home in Lithuania.
Do you have the qualities of a good leader?
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Giles Hutchings, Captain of Warwick’s University Challenge team
Masters, Financial Maths
What made you want to become Captain of Warwick’s University Challenge team?
I wanted a chance to show off the pointless knowledge I have to a national audience. I started watching University Challenge when I was around ten and at secondary school there were always competitions to see who could get the most questions right.
About ten years ago Warwick won with one of the best captains ever so I’ve tried to emulate that, although I can’t tell you the results as it hasn’t been broadcast yet.
What qualities make a good leader?
Being able to listen to others and give everyone’s opinion an equal view. You may have really strong views but you need to be able to adapt to change. You need to be empathetic to other people’s views and almost selfless with your own.
I went on Countdown a few years ago when I was 17 so I’ve had experience in a TV studio before, which meant I felt less like a rabbit in the headlights this time which helped me lead. I’ve also had plenty of experience with mounting pressure thanks to my Maths degree.
What are you really passionate about?
The drive and ambition to be the best at what you put your mind to.
My mum was on Countdown before me and she got to the quarter finals before being knocked out. This meant I had to win a series of the show, so I made myself a strict practice regimen and learnt a load of useless words that I never used except on countdown. I set myself a really hard target but fortunately I was able to succeed and I won the series.
I really felt that drive and force to push our University Challenge team to victory. We picked the team to represent all aspect of our university, so they’re not just a team of four white guys who study Maths.
What kind of a leader are you?
In preparation before filming I divided topics up and each person specialised in an area. We’d focus on areas we already had some foundation in and developed that.
This meant each team member had specialities and if there were bonuses there would hopefully be someone who had an idea about it, so I’d look to them and give them some encouragement. If they had no idea I’d take an educated guess as Captain and we’d move on from there.