Before starting at NJIT, a mentor of mine had emphasized to me the importance of “soft skills” and encouraged me to join Toastmasters International–a non-profit organization that helps its members to develop their communication and leadership skills. I immediately joined NJIT’s Toastmasters club in my first semester. Unfortunately, the club was not well attended nor officially chartered with the organization-it did not provide the enthusiastic and supportive learning environment that my mentor had talked about. At the end of the year the club’s leadership wanted to disband the club. 
I saw a clear need for Toastmasters at NJIT. Our institute has brilliant analytical thinkers with a strong focus on science, engineering, and math. However, soft skills were overlooked at the student’s expense. Their extraordinary capabilities would go unnoticed if they could not communicate or lead effectively. To address this issue, I became club president and decided to reinvigorate it, chartering with Toastmasters International so that students could benefit.
I knew it would be challenging to establish the club and fill this niche in our community. I had no membership base, resources, or leadership team to begin with. I was not sure how I would persuade students to realize the importance of and make time for personal development and to become due-paying members. I did, however, have a strong vision and purpose for the club and the belief that I could create it.