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“New Voices” is an election project from The Takeaway that showcases the issues and thoughts of students and young voters across the country.

What constitutes leadership in the world today?

Leadership can be defined as the ability to inspire or influence a group of people, or human behavior, to meet a specific goal or create change. Thus, leadership becomes associated with greatness, but what seems to go unmentioned most of the time is how leadership affects the daily lives of people not only is our communities but around the world.

People must pay close attention to the role that heads of states play as leaders. Only after understanding how one individual can affect the lives of millions for better or for worse can people decide if it is time for a different form of leadership in order to shift a country in a new direction.

I am ready for new leadership in the United States. President George W. Bush chose to use his leadership to wage a “War on Terrorism,” build a wall to divide the U.S. and Mexico, invade Afghanistan and Iraq, allowed our economy to spiral downwards, and so forth. Thus, I will continue to watch the U.S. election process with a critical eye, in the hopes that one of the candidates will ensure not only my interests as a citizen of this country but also ensure the interests of millions of people living here without their human rights. Let us not forget that in making powerful decisions, such as voting for a presidential candidate, one vote can change the course of history. We live in an interconnected planet; no need to be self centered. We have to make decisions with a conscious understanding that we all affect each other in one way or another.

Let me introduce myself before I go any further. My name is Alejandra Lopez. I’m 20, and I was born and raised in New York. I currently attend Pace University in downtown Manhattan, majoring in Political Science. I, like many others in the U.S., am a daughter of immigrant parents that traveled here from Mexico in hopes of a better job, a dream home, and a higher level of education for their children. Over 12 million people living in the U.S. are undocumented immigrants. Yes, the number is impressive, but what concerns me is the way that these people living within U.S. borders will be affected and dealt with in the next presidency. However, the issue of immigration is not the only one that gives me heartaches, but I admit that I am deeply concerned.

As a Hispanic, and specifically a Mexican-American, my life journey has exposed me to the hardships and inequality of life in America but also has inspired me to believe in the power of the people and that working hard can make even the most impossible dream a reality.

Inspired by revolutionary ideals of freedom, equality, rejection of tyranny, respect, and human rights, I aim to give The Takeaway’s “New Voices” project a different perspective- one that will analyze the rhetoric, leadership, and goals of the U.S. presidential candidates through the eyes of a young Latina living in New York. –Alejandra Lopez, Pace University