“Don’t be as good- be better. All of us is stronger than any one of us” -Terry Clifford
Like many of you, I have been involved in numerous bake sales, talent shows, poster campaigns throughout high school. And eventually, they began to wear me down. I have so much more to offer and I was so hungry for change.
By pure coincidence, I came across an organization known as Global Vision in January. I was chatting with an upper-year commie at Goodes who happened to mention that there was a Global Leadership Centre (GLC) in Toronto. A GLC is an annual 2-day conference (17 GLCs held across Canada). This year, the GLC was modeled as a G8 mock summit and the delegates ranged from 16 to 25 years of age. I attended the conference and was inspired by Terry Clifford, the founder of Global Vision and the Junior Team Canada program. Terry had worked as a Member of Parliament and quit because he wanted to dedicate his time to the next generation of young Canadian leaders. To learn more about Global Vision: http://www.globalvision.ca/about
Roughly 2,200 of us had attended these GLCs. Terry challenged us to define our own brands. What would You. Inc represent? This exercise was incredibly valuable because your vision of who you want to be is the greatest asset you have. For the entering frosh- conferences are a great place to meet people, develop an interest in a particular industry and have some fun. I’d strongly encourage you all to attend 1-3 conferences in your first year. ComSoc runs a number of awesome conferences, as does the AMS. And if you have some time, take the initiative to poke around at conferences hosted by other universities as well.
ComSoc: https://comsoc.queensu.ca/home/index.php# (under External, Conferences)
Queen’s clubs: http://www.myams.org/society/cia/ams-clubs
And keep your eye on the Commerce website for other events and happenings as well!
From the attendees of the GLCs across Canada, 100* Canadian youth were selected from the GLC participants to attend the National Youth Ambassador Caucus (NYC) in Ottawa this May: www.nyc2010photos.com It was an incredible experience to speak with Prime Minister Harper at Town Hall, network with the G20 Ambassadors at dinner, listen to political and business leaders speak regarding issues on the G8/G20 agenda and debate over the issues to be addressed at these international summits on Parliament Hill. Some takeaways:
-Media is the name of the game Know the local media outlets in your region and submit a press release when you are planning any public event. This is key in attracting sponsors and improving the image & credibility of your cause.
-Civic engagement Stay in-tune with current events and politics. Few people are aware that you can join a political party at the age of 14 and have a say in whose name shows up on the final ballot.
-Golden rolodex Your rolodex is your professional network. Often in business, it isn’t what you know but who you know. Create an account on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com , remember to ask for business cards and never forget your thank yous.
*Of the 100 delegates at the NYC, 4 attended Queen’s while 11 were from Western. Let’s change this ratio for next year, hmm?