Invited to fill a spot, stayed for the learning opportunity

Hi Everyone! My name is Aliyah and I am a Grade 11 student at St. John Paul II Catholic Secondary School. Today, I had the pleasure to attend the Illuminate National High School Leadership Conference with over 170 students globally. Here is my blog which strives to highlight what I learned more to a lot about consulting and entrepreneurship.

My favourite leadership quote was: "Whenever you think you're doing it right, you are right," a quote that Alina Huang had told us during her story because it gave me a little peace of mind and a speck of self-confidence.

Opening session take-away:

What I took away was that whatever you want to do could very well be what you should do because it is your interest, maybe even a dream job.

CPA workshop take-away:

During this workshop, I was unable to actually attend this workshop because the speaker had some difficulties on her side, but a speaker told her story and she talked about her story that took her through a rollercoaster in academics and her personal life. I took away that we should always be persistent.

Concentra workshop take-away:

I learned that we should start early in investing money and bank accounts to get the most profit we can in a small amount of time compared to those that start later.

Deloitte workshop take-away:

I think that what the speaker said about being assertive is something I'm familiar with because my parents always tell me to ask for help, help others, and be assertive because others will learn and do the same.

Entrepreneurship and leadership know no boundaries.

In what ways do I consider myself an entrepreneur?

To be honest, I believe that I could consider myself more of a follower rather than a leader most of the time but in the mindset that if I were an entrepreneur, I think I would be a leader that would always ask for feedback and constructive criticism from the people I lead to keep things mostly about them rather than myself.

If I were to create a business and I only had $5 in my pocket, what would my business be?

If I were to create a business and I only had $5 in my pocket, my business would be one that would focus on holding a fundraising business for cats and their surgeries by holding a social media account by spreading awareness, then I would start holding ads to help people understand their situations, which would then lead into paying people 5 bucks to advertise it as well.

How can I apply the entrepreneurial mindset in what I do in the future?

I think that the entrepreneurial mindset is a mindset that everyone should have because it is beneficial to them in ways they might not have even imagined and that it could help with everyday problems and situations.

1. What is one thing I am very passionate about and looking forward to next year after attending NHLC?

I learned a little bit more about how co-op and fast-tracking is a beneficial experience to our post-secondary years and I am very much looking forward to both learning more and experiencing this in my secondary and post-secondary years.

2. If you could share one piece of advice about leadership with your readers, something you learned at NHLC, what would it be?

I would like to share that not everyone will have good advice on your life journey, so it is important to take everything that one with leadership authority with a grain of salt and you need to really think about what they say and let it sink in in order to gain an understanding and your own opinion that could be based from the advice or opinion you were given.

Thank you for reading!