The Central Ontario Leadership Seminars is a not-for-profit organization that has been running since 1987 with an aim to empower youth from across the province to reach their leadership potential. One tenth grade student from every high school in Central Ontario is nominated to attend the three-day-long seminar, where they are subjected to icebreakers, team-building activities, keynote speakers, and daily reflections with a group of talented individuals they have never met before. I had the fabulous opportunity of embarking on my COLS adventure from May 26, 2023 to May 28, 2023 at the University of Guelph as a brand new ambassador.
The experience only lasted three days, but every day was so jam-packed that it felt like we had spent three weeks together. I had so much fun meeting other leaders my age and learning alongside them, and the campus scenery was breathtaking, with wide green expanses and old, monumental buildings. Every day ended with a bang: Friday night we had a dance with Evolution DJ; Saturday night we had a Talent Show filled with dances and singing and laughter; and before we left Sunday afternoon, we chanted cheers and watched a tear-jerking slideshow of all of the moments we spent together. We developed our public speaking skills through impromptu table discussions, and gave back to our community by helping create plarn which could further be used to make soft, reusable, and waterproof sleeping mats to ship to third world countries. My favourite part was listening to our keynote speakers, Juan Bendana, Sunjay Nath and Jessica Potts. They gave such remarkable insight on how to get the most from life as a person and as a leader and their delivery was hilarious and on-point. For me, their speeches helped me come to the realization that it is in my hands whether I want to approach my life positively or negatively, and that even when things get tough I have it in me to persevere and achieve success, however I might define it. Even though my COLS seminar might be over, I can continue to apply the lessons I have learned for the rest of my life. It was probably the most exciting and memorable weekend of my life, and I look forward to volunteering at the 2024 COLS seminar as an alumni next year!
