07/01/2023
In 2022 I was surprised and incredibly honoured to be invited back to my former school, as Chief Guest at the school’s annual Prize Giving ceremony! As well as giving out prizes to the highest-performing pupils in front of their proud parents, the Chief Guest also makes a speech, and I chose to speak about how my time at the school had equipped me for life, travels and careers beyond school. I framed my speech with this quote by Mary Oliver, which is an excellent one for us all to consider at the beginning of a new year: “What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
I spoke particularly about the importance of grasping opportunities to travel with both hands, and of stepping through open doors to experiment as much as you can and discover your life’s purpose. I explained how travel had shaped and developed me as an individual, and led me to where I am today, via all the amazing life experiences I’ve sought out and been fortunate to have.
I was absolutely thrilled to hear afterwards that pupils, teachers and even parents had felt inspired and touched by my speech, and I feel so incredibly excited for the bright future and the endless possibilities ahead of these promising young people!
Volunteering and supporting young people is one of my very favourite things to do and it energises me so much - through giving careers talks in schools, mentoring, and offering work experience. So participating in that Prize Giving ceremony was really such an honour and a real highlight of 2022 for me!
I’ve already booked in 4 career talks so far for 2023 with schools across the UK, and I’ll be speaking about languages, gap years, studying abroad, and international careers. If you haven’t already, I thoroughly encourage you to contact your local and former schools/universities to see how you can volunteer - it’s such an excellent and easy way to give back to your community!
