Hola! My name is Brandon Chen and I am a grade 11 student at Markville Secondary School. Today, I had the pleasure to attend the Illuminate National High School Leadership Conference with over 170 students globally. Here’s my blog which strives to highlight what I learned about consulting.
"You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take - Wayne Gretzky"
From the keynote address, I realized that Goodman was a viable program I never considered. Their co-op program makes things really enticing!
Later on at the CPA workshop, I learned that when you know what you are aiming and aspiring for, you have to make opportunities for yourself, find opportunities, and take advantage of the cards you’re dealt. Always make yourself presentable as well!
My second workshop was with Paul Okundaye, an Associate Consultant at Bain and Co. This was my favourite workshop because it answered many pertinent questions related to my post-secondary direction and future career paths. For a long time, I have been set on studying Commerce/Economics/Business Administration at University, but I was confused about what the farther future held for me in terms of career choices. Paul helped me discover that I want to pursue management consulting in the future and assured me that Ivey Business @ Western is still my dream program. What I learned about management consulting is that it encompasses every area of business - finance, entrepreneurship, marketing, and law - and applying them to creative, open-ended solutions for the world’s largest conglomerates.
If I had $5 to create a business, I'd use it to buy a cake. Because personal satisfaction and happiness are more important than my career!
One thing I am very passionate about and looking forward to next year after attending NHLC is that I am much more confident about uni apps next year, given that I have narrowed my career path considerably.
If I could give one piece of advice to you, the reader, it’s that you should take every chance provided to you. I was skeptical about NHLC initially, but I learned so much in the process. You never know if you don’t try!
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