Leading from the Inside Out Co-Curricular Certificate Recipients. Photo by Alan Wu.
Over four weeks, 24 students participated in ILead’s Leading from the Inside Out Co-Curricular Certificate. This certificate is a dynamic, arts-based certificate that helps students uncover their passions, grow more confident in expressing themselves, and become part of a supportive community.
We gathered reflections from some of the certificate participants to hear what they got out of the program. Also, check out the gallery below from the final session on February 10th!
This program taught me that leadership isn’t just a mask you put on or a role you assume, but in fact emerges from within. I learnt that vulnerability and emotional intelligence/maturity are valuable parts of leadership and this certificate program consisted of many fun exercises and notions that not only helped us learn more about these, but also practice them with some new friends and colleagues!
-Rahul Maheshwari (IndE 1T5)
If I had to describe this experience in one word, I would say enlightening. I started off with a blurry vision, a small sense of who I am and what my values are, and I was only focused on my future. I learned through this certificate the values that I hold dear to me, I learned how my past shaped the current me, and gained more confidence to take action and pursue what I want for my future. I came out from this experience with a much sharper vision of what I want, what makes me happy, what my strengths are, and I made a lot of new friends. In addition to all that, it was really fun and energizing, like a really refreshing break from all the engineering work we do. 10/10 would recommend.
-Israa Abd El-Fatah (MSE 1T6)
I really appreciated this program. It helped me develop a better understanding of myself, in terms of who am I and where I am going. The key takeaway was that knowing our values and making the best of them can help us practice more effective leadership and become better people. Throughout the program, I became more aware of my comfort zone and inclinations. Knowing more about these aspects of myself helped become a more well-rounded person. I feel that I am now more able to tackle increasingly diversified situations. This program provided me a platform to elevate myself beyond technical aspect of engineering. Thanks again for this program!
-Shenglin Yang (EngSci 1T7)
I registered for the Leading from the Inside Out certificate with the expectation that it was going to be a classroom style workshop. It was quite the opposite! The sessions were highly interactive and well structured. Every two-hour session was a learning experience and I walked out of the room always feeling refreshed and motivated to continually develop my leadership competencies. Participating in the improv workshop, visualizations, and guided meditations really helped me learn to reflect on what my core values and leadership qualities are. The discussions with other participants were rich and inspiring and I will always remember what I learned in this session as I develop myself and my career as a leader.
-Jide Falodi (MEng Candidate, MIE)
