Becoming a Self-Empowered Leader

In the 15 years since Evren Gunduz ’04 graduated from UMass Amherst, he has won awards for teaching, competed in ultra marathons, and changed lives through the nonprofit he founded, Enjoy Life Education. He attributes his success to self-empowered leadership and the four years he spent in the Minuteman Marching Band under the leadership of the late charismatic Band Director George Parks.

“George Parks was, in my mind, the greatest of the empower leaders. He emulated many ideas about becoming the best version of yourself, being a role model, and leading by example through your actions rather than words,” says Gunduz. He came to UMass Amherst as a trumpet player from Hopedale, Mass. and graduated in 2004 with a major in geological earth sciences and a minor in music.

As Enjoy Life Education’s executive director, Gunduz incorporates self-empowered leadership in all its programs for students, including teens, athletes, coaches, and diplomats. He travels the world with his message that leadership is not a single act but a way of life. “The most important thing we teach is that leadership is a lifestyle and requires continual growth,” he says. Gunduz defines a self-empowered leader as one who has invested in the time and resources to become the best version of themselves and one who can lead from the bottom of the triangle rather than the top.

This self-empowered leader became a self-empowered teacher upon graduation. He infused his eighth-grade science classroom at Hopkinton Middles School in Hopkinton, Mass. with lessons on leadership. “If I could create a culture of excitement and energy in our science classroom that mirrored that of the band, then we could achieve anything,” recalls Gunduz.

His has received several awards that recognize his positive impact on the lives of teens, including the Goldin Foundation Excellence in Education Award. He left the classroom in 2012 to start Enjoy Life Education. And true to his words, he employs his organization’s theme to push through all of life’s challenges such as competing in ultra-marathons, which are longer than a regular marathon. “The self-empowered leader is someone that is putting so much into their life, they’re getting a ton out,” he says.