Chairman!!!
Every Tuesday when I am to sit with my crew members to plan the written works, articles and creative writings that go out of the editorial board into the department, I find myself taking deep breaths, checking and rechecking my agenda to see if it is good enough to present before the six individuals that looked up to me as their leader. I find it to be a humongous task.
Source
I had just arrived at school one day when my coursemates began hailing me with shouts of Chairman!I looked down at my pair of joggers and t-shirt to see if the word had been inscribed on any of them and I had missed it by chance. When I couldn't find it inscribed on anywhere around me, I gave smiles to as many people as I could in response, stopping to greet a few who offered their congratulations while wriggling their brows at me.
I headed over to the front desk at the window where I loved to sit during classes, dropped my bag then turned back to one of my colleagues.
Mandy what's going on? Why is everyone excited to see me?
A slight expression of confusion graced her face then she brushed it off with a smile again.
How can you ask that kind of question when you've just been appointed as chairman of the editorial board? She did the thing with her brows too. My jaws dropped.
What are you talking about?
That look of surprise crossed her face again, this time, it stayed.
You didn't know?
I shook my head this way and that in utmost bewilderment.
You were elected by the Vice President of the department to serve as the chairman of the editorial board. It was announced during the departmental congress yesterday.
It seemed like all the blood in my face got drained out that minute. I had received a personal reminder about the congress from the vice president himself, but I hadn't paid attention to it since I wasn't a regular attendee of the congress.
You really didn't know it was a statement this time. I waved her off with a quick Thank you then rushed out to look for the vice president who happened to be one of my coursemates.
I found him addressing some year 1 students, so I walked up to him and whispered that I needed to see him urgently in his ears then returned to the class to wait.
How come I was made chairman of the editorial board without my own knowledge? I asked the minute he sat beside me.
He simply lifted his shoulders and dropped them in one swift movement.
Offices like that are open for appointment by the president. Since he didn't know anyone befitting enough to take up that position, I suggested you and after a background check, he made it effective.
I just realized my heart was racing so I took deep breaths in and out then turned back to him.
I don't know the first thing about being the chairman of an editorial board….
His laughter cut me short.
Treasure, you were on the team as secretary during the last government. You have more experience than most people in this department. Just man up and accept the responsibility.
Man up? Before I could say another word, he was strolling out of the class. I slapped my face with my palm, still trying to make sense of the situation.
It was a week later when the student adviser summoned me to his office that I knew I was in for business. He didn't even offer me a seat. Just gave a breakdown of what he wanted from the editorial board as a team and gave an ultimatum for getting the results he desired. I immediately had to go to each constituency to pick out members of my team, set up a group, put a crew in place for leadership and got to work.
If anything had made me learn responsibility on the job, it was that position. I had to organize meetings with my crew members every week, drafting out creative writings, news on the department and the country, and poems to keep the students board alive.
Four days ago, I had my last meeting for the year with my entire team, thanking them for the tremendous effort they put in so far and apologizing for the pressure I mounted on them to deliver their roles within short notices.
As I returned home that evening, I was grateful that I had my Tuesdays to myself again and wouldn't have to worry about creating working agendas, apportioning roles or scolding my colleagues who didn't deliver their articles promptly. I have called it a wrap for the year, we go again next year.