In the month of May, Future Leaders Bermuda wrapped up its Monthly Mentorship Club for the 2022 school year, with an event themed “Know Your Employment Rights”. Hosted at FryDay’s, students enjoyed an insightful presentation by Gabrielle Cann from the Labour Relations Section at the Ministry of Economy and Labour, This was followed by an interactive, guided painting session with local artist and entrepreneur Carlos Santana. Below, 2017 Future Leader Shi-Shun Burgess provides a review of the new Monthly Mentorship Club he participated in throughout the past few months.

My name is Shi-Shun C. Burgess and I am a first-generation (2017) Future Leader. During my time as a Future Leader I learnt and grew so much that I found myself hungry for more after the summer programme. When the Monthly Mentorship Club was announced, I was thrilled because I knew that not only would we learn a lot, but that it would also be a safe place where I would be able to freely express myself and ideals.

In the beginning of the monthly programme, we engaged in a Heritage tour of the City of Hamilton where we were taken to everyday places that held historical relevance. We learnt about people such as Henry Hamilton, after whom our capital is named, and some of the things he was well known for. We then had a reflection period, which gave us the chance to express our thoughts. This not only helped us to better digest what we had just learnt but also to understand what it meant to us. This proved beneficial since a lot of the information provided was new to most of us, even though it had a direct connection with our island’s history.

Our next monthly activity took a leap into the working world by hosting mock job interviews and creating vision boards. After being interviewed, we received feedback on where we excelled and how we could possibly improve. This not only helped to build confidence, since most of the newer Future Leaders had not experienced an interview process before, but also gave us practice and helped us to hone where we could do better.

While creating the vision boards, one thing that stood out was that no two looked the same. Even though people may have had the same dream job or career goals, everyone had their own way of getting where they wanted and what else they wanted along with it. This exercise helped me to think outside the box and, instead of focusing on my weaknesses, work to grow my strengths. It also helped me to focus on my goals and to better picture them.

During our third meeting we had a yoga session — I know that yoga seems more like an exercise but it taught us so much more. As we went through different poses, most people had two main obstacles that were either physical or mental. It taught me that no matter how much you grow, it is important to not only remember how you started but to remember who you are and to not lose yourself along this journey.

It also showed us the importance of keeping yourself grounded. This led us to the roller rink in Dockyard, which we would later leave after an afternoon of not only fun but conversations about different issues going on in our community. During our last monthly event, we received a presentation about knowing our rights as employees — to provide us with a better understanding of what we deserve in the workplace. We concluded the last event with an afternoon of painting and lunch, which everyone thoroughly enjoyed.

From the summer curriculum to the monthly meeting, Future Leaders has proved to be beneficial not only by providing the youth with the information needed to push Bermuda in a better position forward but also in giving us a great way to share our beliefs and also get a better understanding of other people's perspectives. I had an awesome time during this experience and I look forward to many more.