Illuminate X Durham: A Spectacular Session!

Hi everyone! My name is Sana Siddiqui and I am a Grade 10 student at Agincourt Collegiate Institute. Today, I had the pleasure to attend Illuminate x Durham’s regional conference. Here are my thoughts highlighting what I learned about. Grades are often advised to be something that decides the kind of future you will have in your life. You will be wealthy and successful if you get "good grades," but you will be unable to do something in your life if you do not. Alina Huang reassured me and demonstrated that this was not the case. Even though she was still in high school, Alina refused to let a mark or a grade define who she was. She wanted to take the initiative to organize an entire conference in order to pursue the future she desired. An idea for a school evolved into a business that has aided so many students over the years. In this session we learned about the professional corporate world, entrepreneurship and leadership. Leadership is not something that can be taught, as Alina demonstrated. Yes, it can be guided, but it is up to you to find your own leadership. It's up to you to figure out who you are and who you want to be as a leader. Alina's words demonstrated that everyone, regardless of age, can be a leader if they have the desire to do so. Alina also discussed mental fitness and the importance of maintaining a positive attitude. It's important to know yourself and aspire to be the person you are. Alina showed the value of getting back up, even though it is difficult. This session showed me that good mental fitness can allow you to make better decisions and progress in crucial areas of your life. I'm happy to report that this session was a real eye opener for me, and it inspired me to think about other ways I can be creative outside of school. I hope to apply what I've learned in the future to things I do on a daily basis. I hope that I will be true to myself and find a way to be a leader that brings new ideas to our world.