February 2026 Student Spotlight: Nicholas Cuevas, Student Leadership Consultant
Being a Hispanic, autistic, and Christian, I often feel like I’m navigating multiple worlds at once. In my life, I have learned to adapt in a system that was not designed for neurodivergent learners, in the community I have witnessed the challenges many Latino families face in accessing opportunities and representation. In my faith, I found a foundation of purpose, service, and resilience that guided me through moments of uncertainty. Together, these experiences have shaped not only who I am but how I choose to lead.
In my journey as a leader, I have begun to understand that leadership is not defined by visibility or authority, but by responsibility and impact that an individual can make. Being autistic taught me to approach leadership with intentionality, careful listening, and resilience. My Hispanic identity reinforced the importance of collective progress and community centered leadership, while my Christian values grounded my approach in selflessness, humility, service, and integrity. These perspectives have vastly shaped my beliefs in who leaders should be through creating spaces where individuals can feel empowered to contribute, grow and belong.
At the Center for Leadership and Intercultural Engagement, I've transformed these beliefs into action. As a leadership consultant, I design and facilitate workshops that help students develop confidence, communication skills, and ethical decision-making abilities. Actively seeking out and mentoring students who like me once questioned their capacity to lead and create inclusive learning environments where diverse identities are recognized as strengths rather than obstacles.
Having been previously a Student Coordinator with New Student and Family Programs, I’ve seen the impact leaders like me bring to the team, helping to plan and execute large-scale orientation programs, train patriot leaders, and ensuring that thousands of students felt welcomed and supported during their transition to George Mason.
Leadership is one of those things that challenges the individual, it makes them think differently about the world around them, makes them reconsider how they approach life, their aspirations and the people around them. By embracing my identities and experiences, I strive to build pathways for others who feel overlooked or unheard. Through my continued work at the Center, I lead with empathy, strategy, and service demonstrating that true leadership is not about standing above others but about lifting others forward.
Written by: Nicholas Cuevas, Student Leadership Consultant
March 2026 Student Spotlight: Minsoo Kim, Student Leadership Consultant
I started my journey at George Mason University, but my story began far from Fairfax, at Mason Korea. As an international student at Mason Fairfax, I had to learn how to live between cultures. This meant translating not just language, but also humor, classroom expectations, and even what leadership looks like in a new environment. Some days, I felt like everyone else already knew how to speak up in class, network, and sound confident, while I was still figuring out the basics.
For a long time, I believed leadership was only for people who were naturally bold and quick to speak. If you were not naturally fluent and outgoing, it was easy to feel like leadership was for someone else. My experience at CLIE reshaped that belief. CLIE believes “everyone has inherent value, alongside the potential to be a leader,” and that leadership grows through trust, exploring who you are, and working together for positive change. That message mattered to me because it made room for students like me to lead as we are, not as we think we “should” be.
As a Student Leadership Consultant, I get to put that belief into action. At CLIE, student leadership consultants help design and facilitate programs, workshops, and events that connect leadership to everyday life. We help our peers find their strengths, build inclusive communities, and lead with integrity and purpose. I have facilitated leadership-focused workshops, conversations, and activities that encourage students to reflect, practice communication, and grow, sometimes in small groups and sometimes in big groups that feel intimidating at first.
One of the biggest changes for me has been gaining confidence when speaking in front of people. Before CLIE, I often hesitated because I worried my accent would distract people, or that I would use the wrong word and be misunderstood. But leading groups taught me something important: you do not wait for confidence to show up, but you build it by doing. Little by little, I started to trust my own voice. I learned to slow down, make eye contact, ask better questions, and listen carefully. Now, when I stand in front of a group, I still get nervous sometimes, but it is a good kind of nervousness. It reminds me that I care.
Because of my international background, I am especially drawn to leadership that helps people connect across differences. CLIE focuses on dialogue and learning from different perspectives, building communication skills, critical thinking, and empathy through structured conversations. As an international student, I know how powerful it is when someone gives you space to speak, and how life-changing it can be to realize your perspective is not just extra, but essential.
To me, leadership is not about being the most visible person in the room. It is about responsibility and creating an environment where others feel welcome, capable, and heard. That is the kind of leader that I want to become and practice: someone who bridges communities, speaks with growing confidence, and helps others find their own voice too.
Written by: Minsoo Kim, Student Leadership Consultant
March 2026 Student Spotlight: Afsana Ahmadi, Student Leadership Consultant
Leadership, for me, has never been about position or visibility. It has always been about responsibility. Navigating different cultures, expectations, and systems taught me early on that opportunity is not evenly distributed. I saw how education can either limit potential or unlock it, especially for girls and underserved communities. Those experiences shaped not only my academic path in Government and International Politics, but also my belief that leadership must be rooted in justice, service, and long-term impact.
My work exists at the intersection of policy and people. As a Leadership Consultant at the Center for Leadership and Intercultural Engagement, I design and facilitate workshops that encourage students to reflect on their values, identities, and responsibilities as leaders. I aim to create spaces where leadership is intentional rather than performative, where students are challenged to think critically, engage ethically, and grow with clarity. I believe leadership development is not simply about building confidence; it is about cultivating discipline, empathy, and the ability to make thoughtful decisions under pressure.
Beyond campus, I am the founder of Amanah, a youth-driven initiative dedicated to advancing girls’ education and mentorship in marginalized communities. Through scholarship guidance workshops, educational resources, and international outreach, I have supported hundreds of young women navigating higher education pathways. This work has reinforced my conviction that leadership is measured not by recognition, but by access, by the doors that open for others because someone chose to lead with courage.
My academic and professional experiences further shape how I approach leadership. As a Research Intern at the Cato Institute, I analyzed K–12 education reform and legislative developments at both the state and federal levels. With a minor in Business Analytics, I approach policy questions with a data-driven lens, ensuring that advocacy is grounded in research and evidence. Engaging in both grassroots mentorship and national policy research continually reminds me that meaningful change requires both structural understanding and human connection.
Representing youth voices in international forums, from the UN LDC5 Conference to global policy and entrepreneurship platforms, has strengthened my commitment to inclusive, evidence-based solutions. These experiences have shown me that leadership operates across scales. Whether facilitating a workshop on campus or engaging in global policy conversations, I carry the same responsibility: to amplify voices that are often overlooked and to build systems that expand opportunity.
Leadership, in my view, is not about standing above others. It is about standing firm in your values while lifting others forward. Through my work at CLIE and beyond, I strive to bridge communities, disciplines, and perspectives, leading with empathy, strategy, and purpose.
Written by: Afsana Ahmadi, Student Leadership Consultant