Impact Social for INC
My name is Susie Pan and I am delighted to be one of the Shad Interns for Impact and working as a part of the INC team. After returning from the best summer of my life at Shad Valley Laval 2009, I found myself awarded with the honour of working for Impact as my internship placement. In the short past month, I have already learned lots and had a chance to work with some amazing people.
I had the privilege to meet many of the other Shad Interns as well as the organizers of Impact at the Impact Social on August 29th at Milestones in Toronto. Coming from Guelph with another Shad Intern, Mitch Schinbein, we arrived early to find the place basically empty. We stood there confused and lost, wondering what to do when two individuals, Alex Shipillo (President, British Columbia Office) and Shanak Rahman (Co-President, Ontario Office) approached us and introduced themselves. That was the first introduction of the day, but a lot more were to come. The saying goes “the early birds get the worm” but for Impact, “the early arrivals get the free drinks.” We mistakenly took some drinks that we weren’t supposed to, but that’s the advantage of getting there early.
More people arrived within the next 10 minutes and we began to socialize. All the Shads shared their stories about their campuses, talked about their project, and what they’re working on for Impact. It was a great conversation starter, but soon, Shads became great friends and formed what can be called an “exclusive relationship.” Being a Shad, we all know the consequences of forming an exclusive relationship, so we decided the food table would be the best place to meet other people. I had the chance to meet and talk to a lot of the Impact workers. It was a great chance to expand my network. Hearing some of the stories from the Impact organizers truly inspired me to achieve excellence.
After chit-chatting for a bit, Janini called us for an exciting announcement. The Impact blog and the new INC website are ready to launch to give Impact a new image. She welcomed all the Shad Interns and congratulated everyone for the work. Then it was picture time! Group photos were taken and smiles were held for the numerous cameras. We were then free to continue socializing and have more of the appetizers (I really liked the yam fries and the pita bread so I apologize for devouring so many). After eating the food, I continued to socialize and talk with different people. Occasionally, I went back and joined in with the Shads again and we form our own conversation, but I also took the chance to broaden my network. One of the very interesting conversations I had is with Alex about the process of scholarship/university applications and advice on planning my own conference. Being a Top 20 Under 20 recipient, Shad Valley alumni, and the founder of two Impact initiatives, it’s no surprise that Alex gave some valuable suggestions and lessons to me and all the other Shad Interns. As a 2009 Impact Microcredit participant, along with Mitch, it was really cool to meet the person who always appears to be on the front page of the Microcredit Blog.
As the social came to an end, with more people leaving, I grabbed every opportunity I could to talk with more people. Another really interesting conversation I had is with Shanak, who happened to be my interviewer for Impact. As we have already talked over the phone for more than half an hour, it was great to finally meet him in person. I also asked him for advice and suggestions on planning my own conference. He gave me lots of in depth thoughts and guided me towards a direction, so it was definitely a big help talking to him.
After a few more small conversations, it was time to go. We were one of the last ones to leave. Overall I had a great time, and was very glad Impact had this social to give me the opportunity to meet and talk to some of the most prominent youth in the country. It was a great experience and I am so fortunate to work with these amazing people. I hope I get the chance to see them soon again and I’m sure our paths will cross in the near future.
