Frontrunner for Disabled Students alumni visit 10 Downing Street
On 18 October 2011 Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife
Samantha hosted a reception at Downing Street to celebrate the
achievements of the young, disabled leaders of tomorrow.
Among a prestigious list of MPs, disability campaigners,
representatives from RADAR - the largest-pan
disability network in the UK - and the Camerons themselves, were
two graduates from the Common Purpose
Frontrunner for Disabled Students course, and myself, Common Purpose employee,
Genevieve Barr.
I caught up with the two Frontrunner alumni to find out what
happened to them after graduation as well as their reaction to the
evening's event and meeting the Prime Minister and his
wife.
Mashfiqual Alam, also known as 'Mash', recently graduated from a
London university to secure a place with leading charity the Royal
British Legion.
He has been accepted onto a Parliamentary Shadowing Scheme - an
initiative which will see him following and observing a
Conservative MP for the next six months. In his spare time, Mash
has become a non-executive director of RADAR's BME London
Leadership programme. This position allows him to utilise the
skills he learnt from the Common Purpose course he attended in July
2011.
He described visiting Downing Street as a huge privilege and
used the opportunity to talk to influential individuals. He learned
more about them, more about himself and his aspirations as a future
leader. He mentioned Steve Jobs, the former CEO of Apple, as a
inspiration.
Hannah-Rebecca Joy Guscoth, the second Common Purpose graduate
who attended, has made the most of the friendships and contacts she
formed at Common Purpose to develop, alongside graduate Suzanne
Rees, a non-for-profit initiative called Independence and
Diversity in Disability (IDiD).
It just goes to show how much Frontrunner for Disabled Students
is making a difference! Hannah was given the honour of speaking at
the Downing Street event, and reflected on her experiences as a
young disabled leader in her address - she spoke of the challenge
of talking to a distinguished audience and how her Common Purpose
experience helped her prepare for the challenge.
She said that networking at Downing Street was a fascinating
occasion - she met several MPs and learnt about challenges both in
the acting world and those surrounding the provision of services to
disabled people in prisons. At the time, Hannah said that
completing her degree and continuing to devote herself to the
leadership projects she is so passionate about establishing were
her next challenges - neither are an easy feat!
Being invited to Downing Street is an impressive start for any
young leaders, let alone those with disabilities. It's fantastic
that we can celebrate the invitation of two of our graduates of the
Frontrunner for Disabled Students to the event. It is even more
worthwhile to learn about the aspirations, confidence and positive
outlook they have for the future.
Written by Genevieve Barr, Associate Project Manager at
Frontrunner
