On Thursday June 13th we held our fifth role model seminar of the year at Conisborough College in Catford. Nearly 50 students listened to our diverse panel made up of:
- Ben Goss, Chief Executive Officer, Dynamic Planner
- Colin Donaldson, Airline Pilot, British Airways
- Theresa Roberts, Restaurateur Jamaica Patty Company, Covent Garden
- Valerie Boateng, Senior Implementation Consultant, Thomson Reuters
- Nity Raj, Director Brentford F.C. & F.C. Midtjylland
- Troy Von Scheibner, TV Magician/Entertainer, E4
Ben Goss highlighted how important it is to work hard and never give up saying “You should always be ambitious, never set the bar too low” he also said “Find things you enjoy and are good at” which resonated with many young people.
Colin Donaldson talked about how important teamwork is, saying “Don’t try and do it all alone, don’t let anything stop you, there is always a way. There is always someone around that can help you.”
Theresa Roberts echoed Ben saying “Education is important, always go for something you feel strongly about and something that you enjoy” which is a key to success.
“Personality is key” was Valerie Boateng’s main message “Make sure you work hard on your personality, and ensure you have something to say to people”. She also said for the young people to “Choose your friends wisely” to stay focused on their goals.
Nity Raj advised the young people to “Be realistic” as “Talent is spread evenly, opportunity is not” so sometimes “You will have to work harder” to be in the game.
Troy Von Scheibner, talked about his path to his Television show and said “If I can make it as a magician, you can do anything you want” and advised “be passionate, work hard and be nice to people”.
Neil Flannigan, World War II Veteran also spoke to the young people and said “Your future lies in your hands and we are here to help you” and that “Not understanding is not a sign of weakness”.
Jane Hadlow, Head Teacher at Conisborough Colledge was grateful to the role models and echoed their messages saying “You are the ones that will make the difference” and encouraged them to be curios with “The question is the greatest way of learning”
Student feedback
"I learned that you should learn from failures and that it isn’t always a bad thing. Maybe it was meant to happen to set you up for something in the future."
"I learned that to be able to succeed in life you need to be able to set goals for the future."
"A lot of the role models worked extremely hard to get where they are and I was inspired. It has made me want to work harder in class and outside of school.”
“I enjoyed speaking and gaining information from the inspiring people that took time out and wanted to help our futures.”
“I will go to college and then to uni or sixth form. Honestly I’ll try my best to improve my behaviour so that the teacher will give me a good reference.”
“I learned that I should believe in yourself, love yourself and you are good enough. I will surround myself with ambitious people.”
