Antonia Pantoja Ethical Leadership

Imagine a world where you weren’t offered education. Not just the world, imagine instead if everybody here in America, weren’t given access to quality education. Dr. Antonia Pantoja realized that Puerto Rico and the Latin Community did not have access to a quality education. The Dr. Pantoja was a visionary and ethical leader. Dr. Antonia Pantoja was one of the most significant visionary and ethical leaders in the United States, and especially to the Puerto Rican and Latino Community who led the way for them to get educated. She was a visionary leader in advocating the creation of organizations for the benefit of the Latino Community. Her valor and initiative to develop the value of life for people in the Latino Community. She was an ethical

leader with values and morals who constantly helped others in her community. This paper will discuss how Dr. Antonia Pantoja used inspirational motivation to inspire others to have courage and overcome difficult situations in life. She also used intellectual stimulation to convince educators and social workers professionals to help in education. She also used intellectual perseverance in being open minded in gathering information resources to get the support on what she believe in helping others. She also used the three P’s in believing that all Latino’s should learn English to be successful. I will further discuss how I identify with Dr. Antonia Pantoja’s visionary and ethical leadership, and how I used Inspirational Motivation, Intellectual Stimulation, Intellectual Perseverance and Dr. Toner’s Three P’s Purpose in encouraging my siblings and myself to complete my education and encouraging others through the programs she helped create, knowing that overcoming the English language barrier was an important first step. When too promote education and help to disadvantaged youths from the Latin Community to get the resources they need for a successful education.

Visionary Leader
Antonia Pantoja was a visionary leader because she used the Full Range Leadership Development Transformation Leadership trait of Inspirational Motivation. The Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education in the CF02 Full Range Leadership Development lesson states that Inspirational Motivation is when a “leaders behavior involves developing and articulating visions that paint and optimistic and enthusiastic picture of the future [BCEE] (2014a, p.14). She inspired others to have courage and overcome difficult situations in life and to have their own right to be successful. She overcame difficulties by implementing discipline and creativity. Her work was recognized and appreciated by community leaders. She had a vision to create organizations dedicated to the education and enabling of underprivileged youths from the Latin community. The Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education in the CF02 Full Range Leadership Development lesson states that Intellectual Stimulation is “Transformational leaders consider learning valuable and see unexpected situations as opportunities to learn and grow by stimulating and encouraging creativity in their followers [BCEE] (2014a, p.13)”. She also used intellectual stimulation in convincing educators and social workers professionals who shared her concern with the high dropout rates of Latinos youth in the United States. She worked at a welding factory where she encourage her peers by stimulating them in creating organizations to help Latinos youths. She was not afraid to take risks in taking ideas from her coworkers. She and her co-workers organized themselves to protect their rights as workers and to resist discrimination based on their gender, ethnicity, language and national origin. (Pantoja, Dr. Antonia Pantoja Fellowship, 2016) The first organization created was ASPIRA (translated from Spanish) which implies that I will aspire and I will attain. This conveyed Latino students in educating them and developing their skills in leadership. ASPIRA grew into a national organization dedicated to empowering Latin community youths. These organizations are still running today in Delaware, Florida, New York and California, across the United States, and in Puerto Rico.
Ethical Leadership
Antonia was very self-determined, she had her own beliefs in helping others in particular communities that were in poverty and unemployed.

Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education LM01 Ethical Leadership lesson [BCEE] (2014e, p. 6) She lived by her core values and had the courage to live by them, despite all the cultural and diverse challenges she faced during the 1950’s. Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education CF03 Critical Thinking lesson, stated that Intellectual Perseverance is “Having a consciousness of the need to use intellectual insights and truths in spite of difficulties, obstacles, and frustrations; firm adherence to rational principles despite the irrational opposition of others; a sense of the need to struggle with confusion and unsettled questions over an extended period of time to achieve deeper understanding or insight” [BCEE] (2014f, p.6). She was very open minded and yet still skeptical in gathering information resources and getting the support on what she believe in helping

others.
Dr.

Antonia Pantoja was an ethical leader because she led by using Dr. Toner’s Three P’s, purpose. Dr. Pantoja put purpose, (her belief that all Latino’s should learn English to be successful) According to drantoniapantojafellowship.org, she helped to organize (HYAA) the Hispanic Young Adult Association. It was created to address the everyday needs of the community that the Migration Division of the Department of Labor could not do. And also helped to organize (PRACA) the Puerto Rican Association for Community Affairs. This organization develop leaders on focusing in women’s issues. They help adoption, foster care and promote bilingual early childhood education. One of her many friends and colleague wrote that “she never had a conversation with her when she was not addressing, or worrying about, a social concern or an in justice. Her work was constant, her mind never rested, and everything she did was steeped in her values and ethics.” (Pantoja, Antonia.

(2004)).