The importance of strong leadership has become more apparent than ever given the challenges of recent months. This year’s Student Leadership Conference aptly focused on developing goal oriented, adaptable and resilient leaders who are equipped to make difficult decisions when times get tough. Entitled ‘Leadership in Adversity,’ student leaders from Years 7-12 came together in strand teams for the conference which included alumni-led interesting and interactive lectures on various aspects of leadership such as good communication and team building, strategic planning and handling the unexpected.
Catherine Germany
History teacher
Student Leadership Coordinator
‘The student leadership conference this year was organised on a hybrid basis with KS4 and KS5 students in school in person and KS3 student leaders joining us online. The Alumni who led the sessions did so with professionalism and enthusiasm, inspiring our current students to consider many important aspects of successful leadership. It was great to see the strand groups engaged in animated conversation following the sessions as they planned for the year ahead. It is so valuable to have the involvement of GIS alumni as by sharing their experiences they are able to broaden the horizons of our current students and help them to see that they can realise their dreams! Having a GIS heritage as well meant that our guest speakers shared common ground with their audience: a shortcut to a shared understanding!’
Su Mae Khor, GIS Head Student
Topic – Strategic planning/goal setting
‘It was amazing to gain such valuable insights from our GIS Alumni who have varying professional backgrounds and expertise. My favourite takeaway messages are:
- Seek to maintain a “Day 1 Mentality” – stay curious, keep experimenting and embrace change
- Before you can look after your team, you have to be able to look after yourself first
- It is important to acknowledge the strengths and weaknesses of yourself and your team
- In times of adversity, ask not “Why is this happening to me?” but rather “What can I learn from this?”
- To be a good leader, one should have empathy and good communication skills
It was such a privilege to have the opportunity to speak at this SLC alongside inspiring alumni and to kickstart the goal-setting discussions within strands. I look forward to working with this year’s student leadership team to be the change we want to see.’
Ahana Basu, Class of 2005
GIS Head Girl 2004/2005
Architect, Singapore
Please find Ahana’s video presentation for this event HERE
Jason Philip Yoong, Class of 2006
Founding Team at Ownit & Mentor/Investor at Techstars (also ex-Amazon)
Topic – Adaptability and flexibility in leadership – being confident as a leader enough to make change when it is required to fit the situation.
‘If you want to be successful in business, you have to create more than you consume. The same goes with education. GIS continues to raise the bar in building a community between students, faculty, and alumni. Creating the space and opportunities for students to dive deep on the why, how, and what with alumni across different fields helps broaden perspective and prepare for ambiguity. Even though I was the one sharing my experience, I felt like I learned even more from the student’s questions. Keep the dynamism burning and remember…it is always Day 1.’
Sam Gan, Class of 2008
Topic – Handling the unexpected
Please find Sam Gan’s event feedback video HERE
Ula Wyss, Class of 2015
BA of Primary Education, Taylor’s University
Topic – Looking after ourselves as leaders and looking after our team (Social Emotional Learning).
‘It is heartwarming to see so many students stepping up and taking the initiative to become student leaders, keen to make a difference. I left ‘Leadership in Adversity’ feeling inspired and motivated that our future is in good hands!’
Gwen Chin, Class of 2015
Digital Director at Revilo Recruitment
Topic – Empathy; Communication Skills
‘It was such a pleasure being part of the GIS Student Leadership Conference, and sharing my knowledge with students! I wish I had these little workshops and conferences back when I was student, as the knowledge would have benefited me in my career. I hope that sharing my knowledge and experiences with the students at the conference made a small difference to them in some way.’
Garima Malhotra, Class of 2017
Topic – Knowing you and your team – the strengths you can call upon and the weaknesses to develop.
‘The SLC was a great opportunity for me to share my experiences in leadership with younger students so they can take away something positive and apply it to their roles. The enthusiasm the students showed throughout the presentation and the insightful questions they asked showed their ability to become responsible leaders in the future. Having been in the students’ position before, I felt that I could appropriately gear my experiences and learnings, and communicate it to them in a way that’s most easily comprehensible. I think as leaders and even as individuals it’s very important that we constantly reflect upon our strengths and weaknesses and strive to grow both personally and professionally, and I believe that the SLC provides an excellent opportunity for student leaders to be inspired by alumni and embark on their journeys of growth!’
A huge ‘Thank You’ to GIS teacher Catherin Germany, Head Student Su Mae Khor and our inspiring Alumni, who generously shared their time and experiences to put together this wonderful online Student Leadership Conference event.
If you are interested in sharing your journey post-GIS, then please get in touch with us at alumni@gardenschool.edu.my. We are always updating our Alumni Website with news from the Alumni community across the continents, and would love to hear from you and share your stories. Please like and follow our Alumni social media pages too at Facebook, LinkedIn