— as third student conference concludes at QC

STUDENTS of Queen’s College and several other secondary schools have benefited from a two-day student conference geared at empowering them for the future.
Organised by the Queen’s College of Guyana Alumni Association, New York Chapter (QCAANY), the conference themed “Empowering and Inspiring Youth for the Future” was held last Thursday and Friday at Queen’s College.

It featured a plethora of workshops on Thursday and team projects and a career fair on Friday.
The workshops were divided into two sections: one in the morning and another in the afternoon and each student benefited from two workshops which covered topics ranging from Science, Technology, Engineering and mathematics (STEM), the social sciences and business.
Some of the workshops also offered character-building and self-empowerment sessions.
All the speakers at workshops were former QC students who have distinguished themselves both locally and abroad.

On the second day, students formed teams and pitched ideas aimed at developing innovative solutions to improve their school lives and that of the wider community.
Here, the North Georgetown Secondary School won for their idea to stamp out cyber-bullying in their school,while West Demerara Secondary copped the prize for impeccable delivery of their pitch.
The overall first and second place prizes went to two teams comprising of third and fourth formers of Queen’s College. The first place team, with their project ‘QC Spectrum’, won a Pizza Party at the Mario’s Pizzeria.

Also, a small career fair was held and various local organisations and prominent figures such as Sonia Noel were at hand to provide career guidance to the students. This fair was the newest addition to the activities of the conference.
QCAANY President,Karen Wharton,said the conference has become an annual event with this being the third installment.

All the conferences in the past were a success, and this year, the managing committee organised a bigger and better conference crafted to tap into the imaginative potential of every student and to guide them onto their path of life as they strive to develop Guyana.
At the opening plenary,Wharton shared a quote from Irish playwright, critic, and polemicist,George Bernard Shaw,which says: “You see things; and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream of things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not?’”.
She charged the students to challenge the things around them with the hope of making them better.