Planes, trains and automobiles

21 März 2016

GSPICLet’s start by looking back on the ‘crack the safe challenge’. After completing what seemed like an endless number of challenges, I was fortunate enough to be one of the first five to crack the safe and potentially earn myself a place on GS2015 without having to put an application in. Lady luck was nowhere to be seen on the day the golden ticket was drawn as it went to Jerome from the UK, at the time it felt as if the odds of getting into GS this year had slightly dwindled. There was only one thing left to do, it was time to make my on-screen debut.

As the applications were slowly uploaded to various forms of social media, the chances of being selected this year were looking slim. I was really impressed by the overall quality of each and every application, some of them looked as though they had production budgets that would have put the latest Hollywood blockbuster to shame. Judgement day finally came and to my surprise I’d been selected to be part of Global Shapers 2015.

The virtual phase was an interesting challenge, mainly because we had to work our meetings around the teams sleeping patterns (and my lunchtime) which meant that during our virtual calls the majority of people were either tired or hungry. Despite this I was really impressed with how enthusiastic and full of ideas the team were and looked forward to meeting them at the face-to-face meeting.

So, where did the F2F begin? Well it almost didn’t begin after my fellow UK Global Shaper David Baish picked me up to go to the airport minus his passport. A quick journey home (health & safety moment: always drive within the speed limit) and we just about made our flight.

The next five days were a bit of a blur so I’ll sum them up in one word – opportunities. Global Shapers allowed each and every one of us to develop a global network, showcase our talents to the AGLF and the opportunity to learn a little bit more about ourselves.

The fresh faces that walked into the Akoesticum on October 3rd left GS2015 with three things, grey hair, tired eyes and an experience they would never forget.

What next? The UK Global Shapers might just have something exciting in the pipeline so all I’ll say for now is watch this space…

Lastly, if you are reading this and thinking of applying for GS2016 I’d urge you to do two things:

  1. Apply – you won’t regret it
  2. Remember your passport

Alex Szumski, UK – Global Shapers 2015

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