On Friday 6 September, the new 6:1 students visited Churchill College, Cambridge to participate in the annual GDST Inspire East Conference.
In the morning, we listened to talks that aimed to inspire confidence and to expand our comfort zone, as well as being given some raw advice about choosing the right university. After lunch in the college’s dining hall, we went off to separate activities that we had chosen in advance, with workshops covering topics such as coping with ‘fake news’, developing skills as a scientist, presenter or debater, finding out about the GDST Alumnae Network and learning about apprenticeships.
Christie said, “the conference was a fantastic opportunity to improve my networking skills and to create a larger web of contacts”. Amelie particularly enjoyed the alumnae session and found it useful to speak to GDST alum to gather information about the journey on which she is about to embark.
Some pearls of wisdom taken away from the conference were that the GDST has an unrivalled alumnae network, full of support and guidance from around 70,000 people across the trust; that ‘if you don’t ask, you don’t get’: by actively creating opportunities for themselves as early as possible, people can be more successful in later life; and that no matter what the future may bring, there is always another “plan B”, if the original plan didn’t work out.
We would like to thank the GDST for organising this invaluable event, which we have been fortunate to attend.
Sophie, Amelie, Lara and Christie – 6.1 Students
