FEEDBACK FROM STUDENT DELEGATES Sharing University and Career Success Seminar - 20th September 2013

How has the information you received from the seminar helped you prepare for university and your future career aspirations? The speakers were quite motivational and all of them stressed the importance of hard work and taking your future into your own hands by doing well throughout university. I think this seminar was more about reinforcing the idea that success is primarily in my hands as young students. It has in many cases strengthened my current beliefs and aspirations, while also helping me see more clearly how I will achieve them. I have looked into some of the histories of the respective speakers and what I learned was inspiring more than anything. Meeting the speakers has also given me an insight into the level of commitment and drive needed to succeed in one's field. The additions I made to my network will also serve me well in my future career aspirations. It made me really think of getting a good routine so that I won't fall into any bad habits and also to keep pushing myself even if I feel like giving up Taught me how to make use of my degree and to always not be scared to seek advice and aim high It has motivated me to continue studying strongly and how to structure my future and not waste the precious time I have the University. I now know how to make good use of that time. The information allowed me to think ahead and focus in my future. Coming to the seminar I felt nervous about university and uncertain about my future life plans. The speakers expertise and knowledge has helped me a lot. It has inspired me to work very hard in my studies and to pursue all of my business aims. The information received from the seminar has given me extra motivation to succeed at University and achieve a first class degree. It has made me also realize that I also have to give back to my community one way or another in the future. It's helped me know how to set my goals and how to achieve them. Also what not to do in order to get where I want to be.

Networking - everyone is in the same position. Speaking about there options helps to influence ours.

What will you do differently as a result of the Sharing University and Career Success seminar? Try and network more actively with my peers Ensure that I'm continually pushing myself academically throughout my time at uni while ensuring I invest as much time I can in the university community to expand socially and mentally. Networking is one thing I was not doing which the seminar has allowed me to see the importance in. I will be putting in a lot more effort to meet people in my field of interest as well as my peers who share my interests. I will try to be a lot more proactive with my learning outside of the classroom and seminar rooms. There was a lot of stress on the importance of extracurricular activities, reading widely and being generally switched on to real-world developments. I think that I'll be more willing to try new things and different societies. Asking for help more and looking for work experience in the field I wish to work in in the future I will now draw up an image of what I want in my future so I can remember it everyday and not lose focus. I will explore the opportunities available to me at university and start the year with an open mind. Try harder to interact with more students. I have made a Linkedin account to network more efficiently. I will try and be more confident in order to network a bit more. I learned that the friends you make through networking can become your strongest allies. Consider my options after university.

Who was the most valuable guest speaker and why? Sandie Okoro as she told us to achieve what we want despite opposition I think that Edwin was the speaker I felt I could relate to the most. The fact the he is closer to our age than most of the other speakers meant that he had to a succeed in an environment very similar to our own. This compounded with the creation of his own business "Give Me Tap" showed me that even in a recession a good idea, passion and perseverance is all you need to achieve something great. All of the speakers provided me with information and wisdom that was specific to them which in my opinion means their talks cannot be compared directly. However,

in terms of networking outside of the event, Mr Mentore is the individual who I am most likely to keep contact with as he is in the sector I am most interested in. I found Selvin Brown to be the most valuable speaker because he talked a lot about what he did outside his place of work and how these things have contributed to his success. Usually, I find that speakers at such events talk about the journey to the career they are in and the place they have arrived at the point of the speech. In addition, Selvin's career is more in line with a career that I aspire to than the other speakers. I thought Jasmine Ennis was possibly the most valuable speaker as she had just left university and she had also worked abroad so it was good to listen to her experience. Sandie touched me as she spoke about the need for confidence and I have struggled with confidence before. I think the variation in speakers was amazing. The younger speakers for example Edwin also made a huge impact on me as they were easy to relate to. The entrepreneur from 'Give Me Tap', I was inspired by his business idea and admired the way he was able to pursue it along with his studies which is something I would strongly consider. I regarded Edwin Broni-Mensah as the most valuable speaker as his journey was particularly inspiring. His story of not achieving the standard he wanted in his AS Levels to pushing himself to succeed in his final examinations reminded me that what is important in any situation is how you react. When Edwin spoke of his social enterprise 'GiveMeTap' I was intrigued by the whole concept and simplicity of it and also now see him as an inspiration to succeed in my career and also help as many people as I can. Vernon Francois. I felt like I could relate to him a lot being an art student, I get looked down upon like my choice is irrelevant and I'm deemed "stupid" in comparison to others. But he showed me to take judgement and use it for the good of me. Sandie Okoro, she told us of the difficulties she overcame in life as opposed to continually bragging about the successes like another speaker did. Sandy motivated me to continue fighting for what I want in life and never to let the negativity that surrounds me to get the better of me. Vernon Francoise and Sandie Okoro. They both showed that you need to work hard to get where you want to be, but also how to overcome the challenges that have been placed in front of you.

What was the most valuable quote/point you remember from the any of the speakers? "Always aim for things that seem out of reach" - Sandie Okoro "There is no such thing as a black community."

Selvin said "Dress for the job that you want, not for the job that you have". I took this not only as a valuable lesson to the importance of self-presentation, but also a lesson into how one must perform above their role to be considered for a promotion or to progress in their career in general. Miss Jasmine Ennis' "Vision Board" is also something that I will be implementing. I think that the 'Go Commando' was the most valuable quote of the seminar. "You can be whatever it is that you want to be" Another point was to dream big and to stretch my mental abilities to the maximum. Sandie: 'you need to believe in yourself or no one will believe in you' Vernon Francois: 'the biggest risk lies within not taking one' Common sense is not always common. 'GO COMMANDO' by Sandie Okoro. (Stretch your mentality) Go Commando. Be You. "You can be whatever it is that you want to be" Another point was to dream big and to stretch my mental abilities to the maximum. "women don't depend on men"

As a whole, how useful was the seminar? I found the seminar very useful as all the speakers had a lot of interesting and relevant information about the best way to get ahead in the future Having the opportunity to hear the stories behind the success of individuals is always useful in general. That being said I think that diversity of the speakers in terms of industry and opinions is what made the seminar so effective. Highly useful. I will definitely be looking for another seminar that is similar to this one in the future. The seminar was very useful. The subject matter was interesting and it was nice to hear about the speakers experiences in their careers. The seminar was very useful as it enabled me to form friendships with people going to my University. So now I am assured that I will be okay when I arrive at university and I do not have to worry about making new friends. Extremely! Meeting other warwick freshers and older girls was very helpful. Meeting the speakers also helped as I would now class them as role models to me It was very useful as I was able to meet people in a similar position to me and was also able to listen to accomplished individuals. It was extremely useful, I was also able to network with fellow students which I believe will be of benefit in the near future.

Very useful, but I felt a bit isolated from students from other Uni's considering I was sitting with students only from my Uni. I wanted to socialize a bit more considering I may not see them again but I am guaranteed to see those in my Uni This seminar was very helpful. I hope there will be more in the future that I can attend. Really useful.

What future topics would you like addressed? More people who are leaders in their field from less "professional" sectors like Vernon Francois Consultancy, Banking, some more emphasis on how to achieve a good work/social balance Possibly CVs and the general road to employment The effects of globalisation of industry as well as pan-European/pan-African politics. I would like to hear topics on Engineering Less conventional career paths -How to chose a lifetime career that is right for you. A subject/ uni specific section could be introduced A topic specifically on leadership. I would like a speaker with a more "artsy" root. Maybe..... greater information about a specific subject for the students that are doing it - e.g maths, the give me tap guy and law.

What you would have changed about the seminar? I'm not sure to what extent this could be added to the current seminar or whether it should feature as its own separate event, but there should be a greater focus on younger speakers. By having recently graduated students share their university stories, along with their experiences breaking into careers from a range of industries or starting their own businesses is likely to have a greater effect on the students that attend. Speaking from experience, I find that the younger speakers are generally more relatable and relevant to what I'm going through than the more established industry veterans whose illustrious stories can sometimes do more to inspire awe instead of action. Possibly inviting students currently in graduate positions to explain what they did to enrich their application. More allocated time for networking - perhaps split us into groups to network with each other and subsequently with the speakers.

I would like have tried to arranged like more time for the attendees of the seminar could mingle some more. Cannot think of anything slightly more emphasis on 'networking' I would try to get the young people more involved through a range of activities, Nothing. Seating arrangements I'm very shy and found that pushing me to network didn't help cause I just ended up being stuck with my friends. So mixed university groups would have helped. The time that the speakers had to speak. Less speakers and greater time would have been better.

100% of respondents said that they would recommend the seminar to their friends Respondents to the survey are aged 18-19 and are about to start university in September 2013.

Compiled by Veronica Martin, Powerlist Foundation Email: veronica.martin@powerlist-foundation.com Website: http://www.powerlistfoundation.org.uk Support the Powerlist Foundation on JustGiving http://www.justgiving.com/powerlistfoundation Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/powerlistFound Share your success with us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PowerlistFoundation A Company limited by Guarantee Registered in England Number: 7082850 A charity registered in England and Wales:1138699