The Leadership by Design Program celebrates its 2020 graduates

BY PAUL JUNOR

On Saturday, June 24^th, 2023, the Lifelong Institute celebrated its cohort 2020 graduates from its signature Leadership by Design (LBD) program. To cap the celebratory event, fifteen scholarships were awarded to these grade 12 graduates who excelled not just academically, but contributed significantly through community service.

It has been seven years now since LBD has been at the forefront of developing present and future young leaders in the: African, Black and Caribbean communities. The mission and vision of LBD is to develop leadership skills through opportunities that foster entrepreneurship and good citizenship. In addition, career exploration enables students to pursue a vibrant future.

The day’s event started with the singing of the Canadian National Anthem by Lorelei Eccleston, Principal of Rawlinson Community School. Xavier Mazzrotta, a Grade 12 (C20) student from Etobicoke School of the Arts, then read the land acknowledgment. Jomo Russell, one of the directors of the LLI, welcomed guests and visitors to the event. Gigi Adetunji, a Grade 12 (C20) student from Craig Kielburger Secondary School in Halton District School Board, introduced keynote speaker, Dr. Rhonda McEwan (President and Vice-Chancellor, Victoria University in University of Toronto). She is the senior executive officer responsible for Victoria University’s academic and administrative operations and reports to the Board of Reagents.

Dr. McEwan shared about her background growing up in Trinidad and Tobago. She talked about her interest in helping students who face many challenges and being able to help them. She stated that making a difference comes from the heart, and from being at the right place at the right time. Graduates of the LBD program told her how they benefited and how this unique youth leadership development program honed their leadership skills, maximized their potential and stretched them to move out of their comfort zone and develop intellectual curiosity.

Fifteen scholarships were awarded to C20 LBD students. Dr. Rhonda McEwan and five of the directors of LLI congratulated them. Four Raymond G. Chang scholarships, six CIBC Foundation scholarships, four PepsiCo Canada scholarships and one Trevor L. Massey scholarship were given to these gifted, talented and bright students.

Vanessa Wright, a grade 12 (C20) from Rosedale School of the Arts delivered the valedictory address. She shared some of the important aspects of leadership skills that she acquired from being a participant in the LBD program. She emphasizes that leadership is not a title or a position, but a mind-set characterized by positive qualities such as: empathy, collaboration, teamwork, enthusiasm, trust, honesty, openness and accountability.

Ethan McCalla from Richview Collegiate Institute and Taddy Kabba, from Sir Wilfrid Laurier Collegiate Institute also addressed the audience. A tribute was given to Christene Ntiri, a student from Mayfield Secondary School who has sickle cell anaemia, by her sister, Elyana Ntiri, an LBB (C21) student who also attends the school.

Angela King recalls the many events that the students participated in, especially the social events that connected students through being involved in shared communal events. She talks about the importance of intellectual curiosity and the importance of building capacity. Those who participate in the program will have to start off by setting leadership goals as the foundation of their future success. She talked about the value of job readiness skills such as: coding, resume writing, financial planning and career options.

Students who are interested can access free courses at the website: llileaders.com. They are specifically developed to provide enriching learning experiences. The three categories include: academic, arts and aspiration. In addition, there are SummerUp webinars available to anyone who is interested. Students, parents, educators and others can access them as a single online recording.