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