Joyce Lin embodies her own definition of a leader

When Joyce Lin found out she was a winner of American Banker's Young Women's Leadership Award, she was surprised. Though she holds multiple leadership positions—student body vice president; diversity, equity and inclusion advocate at her school; intern at BlackRock and NBC; club founder; and small-business owner—she says she never felt like a natural leader. Growing up, she was shy, quiet and afraid to speak up. It wasn't until high school that she realized her full potential, and understood that a leader doesn't have to be the loudest voice in the room. 

Lin graduated from Francis Lewis High School this spring and began at Barnard College in the fall as a first-generation college student. She plans to study sociology and entrepreneurship. 

The Queens, New York, native held her first leadership position when she created her own club in the beginning of her sophomore year. In September 2019, she started FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising) Fashion Club. "During the first meetings, I was incredibly nervous; my hands would shake and I felt awkward with my peers even though I was the president," she said. As she led her club—teaching weekly workshops, planning meetings and increasing membership by 200%—she slowly became less nervous and more confident. "Speaking up and getting out of my comfort zone allowed me to find my identity at school. I wanted to be someone who helped others."   

Lin quickly began to take advantage of all the opportunities that her large public school had to offer during her sophomore and junior year. "In high school, I was trying to create as many opportunities for my school as possible, especially during the pandemic," she said. In 2020, as a sophomore, she helped and advocated for others, whether it was through representing 4,000 students as vice president of the student body or addressing social issues as a founding member of the student culture team for diversity and inclusion at her school. "These experiences allowed me to have a voice within my school community and represent others," she said. 

In that same year, Lin started her jewelry business, WearYourJoyce. "During the pandemic, I wanted to combine lessons that I'd learned in the classroom with my passion for arts and designing," she said. Lin designed and launched her own website, created social media campaigns, and researched fashion trends, leading to $6,000 in total sales. A year after starting her business, she was able to apply the entrepreneurial skills that she learned to her marketing internships at asset manager BlackRock and the broadcaster NBC Universal. At BlackRock, she was also able to expand her leadership skills by leading a team of five other interns and guiding them through preparing strategy reports for the company. "I was able to set up coffee chats and meetings within our group to help other interns navigate their way through the project and know what they're supposed to do."  

Out of her many accomplishments throughout high school, Lin is the most proud of "breaking out of my shell and being able to speak up." As she sees it, "being a leader isn't just someone who supports and encourages others but also helps others give back to their community and have a voice." Throughout her time in high school, Lin has been able to do just that. She has fit into her own definition of being a leader, and shown young women that leadership can come in many different forms.