Becoming a Leader and Changemaker, Rachel’s Award Story

Meet Rachel, a Gold Award Achiever from Ontario. Rachel has used the Award to develop her skills to be a leader and a changemaker.  

The Award Experience  

“The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Leadership Award has not only provided me with the opportunity to learn new skills, meet like-minded people, and better connect with my community, but more importantly, it has allowed me to develop into the well-rounded individual I am today. The various tasks, projects, and journey’s involved in completing the Award are what make it unique and valuable.  

“It was the final Gold Residential Project that was truly transformative in my goal of becoming a better leader and person overall.” 

Gold Residential Project – Passion to Purpose 

For my Gold Residential Project, I decided to attend the Passion to Purpose event in Spring 2022, as it is something that was out of my comfort zone, a new way to network, and an experience filled with so much potential. From the moment I stepped foot onto the grounds of this event to the moment that I packed my bags to leave, I felt a sense of togetherness and community.  

Being able to take part in a variety of activities including team building exercises like group scavenger hunts, informational workshops like learning how to better public speak, and fun social gatherings like early morning workouts, was the highlight of this experience.  

Along with these daily pursuits that allowed me to meet new people from all across Canada who later became close friends of mine, the main project of working in a group to create an innovative solution to a particular world issue, was the most empowering aspect of all. Working in a group with four other people to design a project around a topic that I am passionate about, helped me to build important life-long skills like communication through brainstorming with my peers, leadership through project planning, and time management through creating a presentation.  

Why You Should Apply for Passion to Purpose 

I hope that other youth like myself consider participating in the Passion to Purpose event to further their involvement in this strong community of passionate leaders who work fearlessly towards bettering the future. After all, we are the generation of changemakers.  

Above all, the Passion to Purpose forum expands leadership abilities and turns already existing leaders who are eager to make a difference into even stronger leaders ready to conquer the world. It certainly has contributed the most significantly to my self-growth as an individual by having the wonderful opportunity to first learn the true meaning of a leader and then become one myself by putting my personal skills to action.  

Thank you to friends, family, and the team of Duke of Edinburgh Award staff for supporting me in my journey to completing the Award…I am so grateful to finally be able to call myself a Gold recipient and honored to be a part of the alumni network.” 

• Rachel, Gold Award Participant and Passion to Purpose Alumni Spring 2022.  

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