Natalia Ramos and Rishika Jeyaprakash are on different academic paths at WashU, Ramos focusing on policy and education and Jeyaprakash on medicine and space science. Yet their student experiences intersect through a shared goal—redefining what it means to lead.
“Being a leader is not just about being the loudest voice, it’s also about being the biggest listener, understanding all the different components that people in your groups bring, and how you can come together to be cohesive,” explained Ramos. “It’s understanding your values and putting those into practice. Leadership is grounded in your own personal sense of purpose.”
Both Ramos and Jeyaprakash have been shaping their definition of leadership through their involvement with the Bauer Leaders Academy (BLA), where they have explored individual leadership coaching, workshops and classes that expand on leadership as a skill to be developed, rather than an innate character trait.
“I think it’s so important to get the message out that everyone can be a leader,” said Jeyaprakash. “Leadership isn’t one set of specific constructs.”
As a BLA fellow, Ramos discovered that leadership for her isn’t about doing more. Rather, it’s about aligning her efforts with her core values. She describes her journey as learning to balance ambition with care, a process that helped her define her purpose-driven leadership, a main tenet of the BLA.
“When you can identify and deeply understand your personal values, that sets a foundation for you to be able to connect with who you are as a leader,” said Ramos. “From there, understanding my strengths and weaknesses and then focusing on my strengths has allowed me to put into practice a leadership style that is based in empathy, connection to others and self-care.”
For Jeyaprakash, who leads the Leadership Advisory Board, helps organize Leadership Week, and participates in programs centered on emotional intelligence and self-discovery, leadership has become a mindset she’ll carry into her future career in medicine.
“A big skill that I’ve gained is really looking at things from a different perspective,” she said. “When I become a doctor, it’s going to be very important to be able to see things from both the doctor perspective and the patient perspective. Leadership for me is about relationships and trust building. It’s a place where empathy and guidance meet.”
Through their shared commitment to purpose-driven leadership, Ramos and Jeyaprakash embody the essence of WashU’s holistic approach to student development—leadership cultivated through experience, values defined through reflection, and a commitment to making meaningful connections that last a lifetime.
“BLA has definitely impacted my student experience by giving me a community where I’m able to voice my thoughts and build skills for my future career,” said Jeyaprakash. “It’s given me the skills to understand who I am as a person and the guidance to build the skills I need to lead in every aspect of my life.”