Simon Simoudis: A Leader in the Making

I had the honor of being present when Simon Simoudis was growing up. The Simoudis had relocated to our neighbourhood when Simon was only about seven years old. My daughter and son were of similar age, and the two quickly became very close. Simon was almost an everyday visitor at our home. They would go to plays at our place and also complete their homework together.

Simon Simoudis was a bright student. He was unpretentiously quiet but also mischievously playful. He was the kind who could help my daughter whenever she got stuck on some math problem. And he would do so humbly. He never made her feel inadequate. It was the same at his school also. He was picked by his teachers to keep an eye on the class when they went on their absent. Yes, he was the senior student of his class. Even as a young kid, he had the flair for wisdom and responsibility for his age.

I still distinctly recollect an occurrence when Simon Simoudis was just 10 years old. There was only one school in our town, and it was a government school. Most children in the neighbourhood attended the school. In the school’s yearly cultural program, the year it was organized by the teacher who was assigned the task of arranging the skits at the eleventh hour got ill. There was terror in the children. The program may well have collapsed. But Simon grasped the seriousness of the situation and took over. He made sure everything worked out well. He allocated the task among his co-students and made sure the junior participants didn't go haywire. Ultimately, the show went off well. There was all-around praise for the young Simon Simoudis. Simon didn't go haywire; he knew he had to act in such a circumstance, and he rescued the situation through his leadership quality, cool mind, and poise.

That was not an isolated incident. Simon’s feeling of responsibility was evident time after time. I remember how, at cricket match times in the neighbourhood park, fights used to break out among the kids. And where was Simon? Cooling down the situation. He never fought for anyone’s side; he only made others see sense. And sooner or later, he’d defuse the situation. Kids listened to him as they regarded him as fair, unbiased, and sensible.

Whenever my kids went out with Simon, I was content, not forgetting that he was younger than my kids by one year. I was confident that when Simon was among them, no harm could occur.

And not only me, but the entire community too was used to thinking the same way about him. It’s still today, after all those years have gone by, people comment on how reliable he was. “As long as Simon is there, everything shall be well” is the type of faith the young man has built.

I tend to wonder why so different from anyone else has Simon Simoudis turned out. It definitely has something to do with the values instilled in him by his parents, and then few characteristics in himself.
Location: Australia

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