For Dillon Cook, the success of others always feels like a win of his own.
Cook’s path has been shaped by a deep commitment to servant leadership, helping students across The University of Alabama (UA) community, from incoming freshmen to individuals in the CrossingPoints program, which supports students with disabilities.
That passion for making a positive impact earned Cook one of the university’s highest honors: the Morris Lehman Mayer Award. The prestigious honor recognizes students who embody selfless service, leadership, integrity, and a dedication to improving student life.
Throughout his time at UA, Cook has built a legacy of community leadership, ranging from his impact on accessibility with CrossingPoints to helping first-year students adjust to college life with UA Admissions. He was also actively involved in the Civic Leadership Fellowship, the Global Leadership Academy, the Gandhi-King Scholarly Exchange Initiative, and the Blackburn Institute, a leadership development and civic engagement program focused on improving the state of Alabama.
Balancing it all, Cook also served as president of his NSLS chapter, leading and inspiring his fellow members.
Living and Leading with Compassion
When asked who he looks up to, Cook names two key mentors who helped him embrace a servant leadership ideology: Jeff Hawes and John Tilley. “Both shared a quality of compassion. It was evident that they cared, making it easy to learn from their servant leadership,” he says.
This model of leadership has guided Cook’s own approach, one where connection, encouragement, and care are front and center. One of the most impactful pieces of advice Cook has received revolves around the idea of mudita.
“Mudita is a term that describes pleasure derived from witnessing the well-being and success of others,” Cook explains. “It's a concept of delighting in another's happiness without any self-interest or envy involved. I was told early in my undergraduate degree to always have mudita for my fellow peers, leaders, and people I mentor.”
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Leadership as a Guiding Light
For Cook, leadership is about creating space for others to grow. “Leadership is meeting people where they are while simultaneously encouraging them to be who they want to become,” he says.
His work with the NSLS has allowed him to put this philosophy into action. “The NSLS has allowed me to cheer on so many students through their new member journey while teaching me perseverance in building our chapter into the success that it is today,” he says.
Looking ahead, he is pursuing a master’s degree in education and an education specialist degree in school counseling at the University of Georgia, with plans to graduate in 2027. His long-term goal is to return to a community like the one he is from and make a direct impact on the lives of others.
“I aspire to be a high school guidance counselor in a rural area, similar to where I am from, where I can simultaneously fill the role of a mental health advocate, career coach, and scholarship specialist so all students feel empowered to follow their dreams, as their background of being rural does not define them,” he says.
Dillon’s Advice for Future Leaders
Along with continuously improving time management—a skill Cook prioritizes while balancing his many commitments—his main advice is simple: “Be someone's biggest cheerleader.”
“Throughout my involvement and career, my top priority is my ability to enhance morale and advocate for students,” he says. “I always tell the students that I work with, ‘I cannot wait to be your biggest cheerleader,’ as I watch them thrive socially and conquer their goals professionally.”
His message to other aspiring leaders? Embrace that role. Step up for others. Cheer them on. Embrace the philosophy of mudita.
It’s a mindset that creates lasting impact, one that Cook is living out every day.
Servant leadership is an impactful leadership style, but there are several others you can leverage to make a positive difference in your life and your work. Check out other leadership styles to see which one fits your framework for building leaders who make a better world.
