2 My Past: My LD0 Experience
Here are some of my most impactful and transformative experiences from the past year.
DeGroote Pride Association:
DeGroote Pride Association
This past year, my friend and I founded the DeGroote Pride Association. Founding the club, as well as being its President in its inaugural year was a very big learning experience for me.
A large part of my motivation to start this club was advocating for the queer community within DeGroote. It is really important to me that queer students in the DeGroote School of Business have a safe space and that through the club we were able to foster a community of support, advocacy, and education. My friend and I saw a gap in what DeGroote was offering in terms of support for queer students and let the desire to fill that gap propel us towards creating this community in DeGroote. There were many difficult and frustrating times throughout the ratification process and my time as President that caused me to be discouraged and lose my motivation. I was able to navigate these challenges and regain my motivation through the idea that this club was created to help a greater community of individuals find support and kinship among their peers. This experience taught me that one’s motivations behind their acts of leadership are very important and can be a large part of how they handle difficult situations and continue to persevere.
Moving forward, I will be more aware of the motivations behind my leadership initiatives since I now know how much it can effect ones leadership journey. I believe that a leadership initiative that is backed by a strong purpose is more likely to inspire resilience, dedication, and lasting impact so I will endeavour to pursue more initiatives I am truly passionate about in the future.
Nature’s Path Foods
Throughout this last year, I had a part-time remote Sales Intern position at an organic food company called Nature’s Path Foods. This company is based in BC, family owned and operated, and has sustainability and community giveback at the forefront of its business. The position was for 9 months and was an incredible opportunity with such an amazing and purpose-driven team.
I learned so much and truly believe that it has shaped my views and goals for the future professionally and personally. The funny thing is that when I was applying, I did not think I was going to get it and was mainly applying for the practice of going through the application process. The more I discovered about the company and all of the amazing work that they do, the more I wanted the position and the more stressed I felt about getting the position. Rather than get too in my head about the application process, I tried to stay true to my skills and values and think that if it was meant to be then it will be. I believe that in the past, I would have let my desire for the position intimidate me and I would have ended up not pursuing the role as a way to protect myself from the fall out of not getting it. I believe that pursuing and getting this role was a step in the right direction towards putting myself out there more for opportunities that I truly want despite how upset I might be if I do not get it.
Moving forward I will try to remember how amazing this experience was and how I was able to have it and all of the learnings that came with it due to my active pursuit of this experience. I will push myself to pursue more opportunities that I truly want and see them to the end, regardless of the outcome, because it is worth it and a learning experience either way.