Joshua Goshay, Called to Lead: Faith, Courage & Student Impact

In this powerful Be a Baller Podcast episode, former Columbus City Schools Student Ambassador and current Otterbein University leader and licensed minister Joshua Goshay shares how faith shaped his leadership journey. From campus senate to keynote speaker at Ballers Edge, Joshua explains how spiritual conviction—not popularity—became his foundation.

Joshua reminds us that leadership is stewardship. Leadership roles are opportunities to serve with integrity and represent Christ well.

If you’re a student wondering whether you’re ready to lead, this episode will challenge you to stop waiting and start walking in your calling.

You don’t need a platform to start. You need obedience.

Be a Baller. Lead with faith.

Transcript

Welcome & Legacy Mission

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Be A Baller, where we're building a lifelong legacy for our families, communities, and the world. Your host, Coach Tim Brown, is excited for you to join him on this journey. On each episode, we'll be talking about how to be intentional about building a lasting legacy. We'll be exploring what it means to leave a mark that goes beyond just our lives, but has a positive impact on those around us and even generations to come. So, if you're looking for inspiration, guidance, and practical tips on how to build a lasting legacy that makes a difference, then you're in the right place. So grab your earbuds, get comfortable, and let's dive in. It's time to be a baller.

SPEAKER_01 0:47

Real change happens when the people who need it lead. Real change happens when the people who need it lead. Change is happening in the lab, but these young people gotta leave. You're doing a great job. Things are having a school, you got the that's when real change left. So I host today is uh this person I've no one person is a new podcast. Next next ball is a podcast. So she's the host of a podcast. And so let's give her a next one of applause.

Keynote Introduction: Joshua Goshier

SPEAKER_03 1:39

Well, thank y'all so much for being here. We're excited about this morning. We hope that you all are continuing to be engaged with us, that you learn something, that you take something away from this one, and then share it with your community. That could be your community at home, that could be your community at school, that could be your community with your friends, whatever that looks like. Take something away from today that you can take that to more community. Sound today. If that's cool, say cool. Cool. I'm just gonna hear against poetry and I'm gonna poet back down the poetry from every now and again. So sometimes I'm drafts of poetry language and there's that is one dissolved. I'm gonna talk to y'all and jump talk back to me throughout this entire time. So if that's cool, say cool. Cool. Perfect, perfect. All right, so as Mr. Brown said, our title or our theme for this morning is leading the change. That means that you all don't have to wait to be leaders because you live in where you, because you are in the school, um, in the school, because you are even just in this room, your leadership starts now, right now, not when you become 18, not when you become 21. You are a leader now. So today, that is what's going to be instilled to you. How do you become the best leader that you can be? That is what we want to give you information for today. And so I have the honor and privilege of introducing someone who is a leader through and through. Um, I had the opportunity to meet this young man in October. Uh, we were shocked running a HPC college tour together. And we had the opportunity to just speak one-on-one quite a few times, and I was really, really impressed. So when I saw him uh being the keynote speaker for today, I was privileged to be able to introduce him. So I'm going to read his bio and then welcome him to the stage. So our keynote speaker this morning embodies the mindset of leadership. Joshua Gaucher is a third-year political science major at Outer Mind University with a deep passion for civic engagement, faith-based leadership, and youth empowerment. He serves with the Office of Social Justice and Advocacy, helping advance initiatives that amplify student voices and foster unity through meaningful action. Joshua is also a licensed minister through the City of Zion Church, where he leads with empathy, integrity, and authenticity. He is committed to helping young people discover who they are, walk confidently in their purpose, and lead with intention. His personal model reflects that to me, which is be the best version of yourself everybody. And it's always a new opportunity to grow. Please help me welcome our first keynote speaker of the morning, Mr. Joshua Goshier.

Lessons From Treasurer And VP Roles

Policy, Process, And Real Change

Inclusion Work And Listening First

Small Details, Everyday Advocacy

Civic Engagement And Finding Your Voice

Consistency, Character, Not Titles

SPEAKER_02 4:34

That's better, that's better. Um, as you've already heard, my name is Joshua Goshier, and I am a third-year political science major at Autumn Bayern University. Firstly, I would just like to thank Mr. Brown and his entire team for allowing me to be here and to speak to you all and to connect with you all on today. Um, I don't take it might be any speaking opportunity or assignment that I'm given. Um, I approach all of them with humility um and humbleness because I think this is a great thing. I'm glad that I have the chosen to be the one to you know get to connect with you all um and to just be able to give you all a little bit of insight and leadership, um, just a few of the things that it is that I have done myself. Um I've been in your street before, so I know exactly how it feels. I know exactly some of the things you know you all are going through, but there's definitely another side to that. And this message today, I'm gonna share with you uh the leadership roles that I've had, what they've allowed me to do, um, not just for myself, but for other people as well. Um there will definitely be a few takeaways that too. We'll get preparing these folks. We have, you know, pen and paper, you got notes in your phone, and I'm definitely encourage you all to do so. Uh these experiences have taught me that leadership isn't about having everything figured out. It's about stepping up, it's about serving, and it's about learning along the way, learning along the journey. It's about showing up consistently, even when you don't feel full and ready, and using the opportunities you have to make a difference. I did not have everything figured out then when I was in high school, and to be honest with you, I still don't have everything figured out, regardless of all the things that you just heard you like. Um that's okay. However, I have learned this that you don't have to have everything playing and ma'am to start moving. Now is the time to start leading me to step into this shit. When I stepped into my college campus as a freshman, I made a decision. I decided I was now just going to attend college, not just be a spectator, but I chose to be a participant. I was going to engage, I was going to serve, I was going to stretch myself. In my fresh two year, I served as treasurer and vice president of a student organization by the name of Benevisible. Our goal, our mission was to promote brotherhood and professionalism across our campus community that experienced shaking ways that I was not expecting. As treasurer, I had to manage the finances of the organization responsibly. I had to put in funding quiz. I had to meet deadlines to make the fundamental place. I had a lot of responsibilities that came with that. But more than that, I had to manage trust. I had to manage trust amongst the organization, I had to manage trust amongst the administration and side of my university because they trusted me with this role over the organization. When people elect you to handle something important, they are saying that we believe in you. We believe in your integrity. It is taking care of what has been placed in your hands. As vice president, I learned how to support a vision that was bigger than myself. Leadership is not always about being the one that's involved. Sometimes it is strengthening the team, holding people accountable, and making sure that the mission remains clear. That same year I was elected as a first-year class senator, I served in the governance by laws committee when we reviewed policies and helped ensure that student government created opportunities and structures and fairness across campus. That role taught me that leadership is not just about passion, it is about process. You can care deeply about people, but if you do not understand systems, policies, and structure, it is hard to create a lasting change. I also served as the student vice chair for the Diversity and Inclusion Committee. In that role, I helped create conversations and initiatives that made campus more welcoming and equitable. That experience strategy required listening to perspectives that are different from my own, which can sometimes be very hard. It requires humility, it required patience, and it taught me that real leadership listens before speech. As a second-year class senator, I can take and serving and I draw the dynamic advisory board with it. Some people may think dynam, why are you on that? Why are you on that too many? That's not a big deal. But I'm not respectful powerfully. Leadership is often found in the details and the small intricacies. When students have concerns about something every day, such as the foods down here eating, and you take the time to advocate for them for the needs it is that they may have, people are going to respect that, and you are showing them that their voice matters. No ishing is ever too small when it impacts people's daily life. So remember that. There's nothing that's too small. Beyond these roles, I also co-led a group called Razor Voice, an organization that was centered around civic engagement. We work to help students understand that their voice matters, not just on campus, but in their communities and in this country. This past year, our organization was named Organization of the Year. That recognition meant a lot. But what meant more was seeing students who once felt disconnected and become more engaged and empowered. I've also served as a democracy fellow, helping students register to vote and understand how to participate in the systems that shape their everyday lives and to be able to put in a means for them, to be able to grasp and understand how it impacts will be directly. I help need an organization every week called Interfia, where students from different backgrounds, different traditions, and religions, we come together and we have meaningful conversations. And recently, as a licensed minister at 20 years old, something I did not chase was something I felt called to. None of these positions painted me a leader. All the things that you just heard, some of the things that you just heard, it didn't make me a leader. The title didn't make me a leader. The awards and the achievements that I've been received and recognized for, they did not make me a leader. The recognition did not make me a leader. What made the difference was decided to show up consistently. Leadership is not about giving the loudest person that can be. It's not about popularity. It's about building the perfect. It's not about building the perfect resume game. It's about character. It's about your technique, and it is about doing the right thing, even when no one is watching. There are moments in my life where I felt overwhelmed. There have been a lot of moments where I felt the Pokemon. There have been a lot of moments where I wanted to give up, a lot of moments where I wanted to throw in the towel, a lot of moments where I just wanted to walk away from everything it is. That is it. But then you have to ask yourself an important question in moments such as that. Your question may be different from mine. But the question of is giving up now what is that gonna be? Giving up now without having a breakthrough to learn how to hold on, you know, balancing academics, leadership roles, balancing sports definitely maybe uh balancing ministry for me, and personal life is definitely that would be easy. I had to learn how to be a better steward of my time. There were moments where I had to admit that I was wrong, that I made a mistake, that I missed. There were moments when I had to grow up with but growth does not happen in comfort, but it happens in your discomfort. And I'm sure some of you may have felt as if you weren't ready for certain things in your life. Some of you may be waiting to feel ready before you step up. I felt like I haven't been ready for some things in my life, whether that's being applied for certain internships. There's this internship that I was looking to apply for last year through the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, which is in Washington, D.C. It's a fellowship that happened in the summertime. And of the sophomore at the time, and I was thinking, there's no way that I'm gonna get this. I'm not ready for it. My resume is not staffed enough, it's not long enough. Surely enough, there are other students who are more bow-roundable than I am. Let me try this again later because I'm certainly not ready. However, that's not the case. You are always ready to do whatever it is it is, you are always ready to do whatever it is that you would like to do now in the present. Don't wait till you have a feeling of being ready. Readiness often comes after you say yes, not before. You don't have to be perfect to lead, you just have to be willing. You have to be willing to learn, you have to be willing to lead, you have to be willing to serve, willing to grow. You all are leaders currently, right now. Leadership does not start when you graduate high school, it starts with how you treat your classmates, it starts in how you respond when things do not go your way. It starts in how you carry yourself, even when no one is clapping for you. People are watching a whole lot more than anything. Your friends are watching how you hand progression, your teachers are watching how you respond to corrections, your younger siblings, cousins, and neighbors are watching how you define success. So define it wise. For me personally, leadership has been choosing to lie my absence, my humans. It has been understanding that influence is responsibility, and sometimes that responsibility can be quite heavy, but you've been chosen and decided to be able to handle it. It has meant realizing that service is not weakness, but it is strength. Some of you will go on to leave organizations, to lead businesses, to lead ministries, to lead families, to lead your communities, to lead movements. In the city of Ohio, in the United States, maybe in another country. Some of you may be leading externally. You must learn to lead yourself before anything else. These are things that you have to be three things that you have to be. You have to be disciplined, you have to have good character, and you have to be consistent. So the first thing is to be disciplined. Can you all think discipline? Second thing, you have to have good character, say good character. And thirdly, you have to be consistent, say consistent. If you can learn to manage your time, learn to manage your attitude, manage your energy, and manage your intended now, apparently, in this moment, you'll be ahead of the game wherever it is that you may go once you leave high school. Me personally, I'm still learning, I'm still growing, I am still becoming. Leadership is not a destination you're arriving at. It is a daily decision that you make. So as you all got it for today, I want you to ask yourself, where can I show up? Where can I serve better? Where can I grow? How can I become a better student? How can I show up for my team? How can I help serve my family, my mos, my church, my community? You do not have to have a title to make a difference. And for me, titans are one with honor, but I don't get caught up in. Because who are you outside of the various titans that you may have been in? And for me, it's something that I don't really get caught up in, and it's something that I don't call my activity to be lost in. Again, you just have to be willing, willing to learn, willing to listen, willing to serve, willing to grow, and willing to show up. And as our close message, I want to challenge and encourage all of you to be the best you can possibly be. Be the best version of yourself. Every day is a new opportunity to become a better version of the person you were yesterday. Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_00 16:25

If you've enjoyed this episode, please share it with family and friends. The Be a Baller Podcast is available on all major podcast platforms. This podcast was created by Coach Tim Brown and recorded and edited by the video production class of Worthington Christian High School. Be sure to come back next week as we continue to discuss on how to build a lifelong legacy. Until then, don't forget to be a baller.