Experiences from the Program: helping students discover their potential

“I have learnt that while I manage to make quality comments, I should be assertive in taking charge of situations.” – Exeter graduate going to Princeton

“I also appreciated the fact that we weren’t assigned homework; if we wanted to get work done outside of the program, we had to sort it out ourselves. I found that this made our group more independent (the members as individuals, and the group as a whole).” – student from United States

“I had never imagined that they [the facilitators] would treat this so seriously. From the comments and words they had for us, I had a feeling that they could almost look straight into our hearts. They didn’t just give us random, general reflections, but gave us advice based on who we are deep inside.” – Heep Yunn student, grade 10

“I learn how to speak more confidently and express my views without prompting. My English speaking skills has also improved in these two weeks.” – Heep Yunn student, grade 10

“The leadership skills I learnt are practical. I came out of it thinking how I could apply them on my daily life.” – Heep Yunn student, grade 10

“This is the place where I can get honest and practical feedback” – Heep Yunn student, grade 10

“It made me see leadership from different perspectives than just telling people what to do” – student

“I found out my tendency in decision-making, which is to rely a lot on my feelings. This enabled me to have more integrated considerations in the future.” – student

“I’ve learnt that we/being a leader need to care about all of our teamates, try to understand their weakness and strengths and do the best to support them. ALSO, taking initiative is really important!!!” – student

“I learned that i lack confidence and this program made me realize that i should value my talents and i also came to the realization that i should try and suspend more + connect all the information before i speak (suspending).” – student

“Many thanks for your terrific program this summer.  I can’t tell you the number of times I have heard [child’s name] mention how much he got out of your program.  I understand that his team may continue their efforts for Diamond Cab, which would be great.” – Parent of CIS student

“Thank you for everything.  [child’s name] find your program inspiring and exciting so far. He talks about his experience every day during dinner.” – Parent of HKIS student

“Leap Studio has created a dynamic and thoughtful space for young adults to stretch the bounds of their thinking, to challenge their pre-conceived notions and within that context, to lead.” – Jennifer Meehan, CEO, Asia Region and Co-Head of Programs and Regions, Grameen Foundation

“I really love the Chillies team.  They show such initiative to contribute for DiS [Dialogue In Silence].” – Anthony Pang, GM of Dialogue in the Dark, affiliate of Dialogue in Silence

“The proposal prepared by Chillies team …we can’t imagine it were came from a group of young people, is awesome and professional.” – Fiona Wat, Dialogue in Silence (social enterprise serving the deaf)

“Their real actions did make social changes of barrier-free lives with Diamond Cab!” – Doris Leung, CEO Diamond Cab (social enterprise for wheelchair users)

“We were impressed with the pricing research, online approach and consignment strategy that they came up with all by themselves.” – Judith Tse, Founder of Bits to Bloc

“The thought that a simple idea can excite and inspire students to work to better the world, inspired me.” – Aamir, Junior Facilitator from Boston University

“Many students displayed an intelligent maturity toward one another, which was very rewarding for the facilitators to see.” – Joanne, Junior Facilitator from Harvard University

“I learned the importance of being able to connect with complete strangers at a more rapid pace as well as the value of being able to “let go” of the situation and let the pieces fall where they may.” – Unsoi, Junior Facilitator from Cornell University