Page 8 - Future Leaders 2018-2019

NOMINATIONS

HOW WE CHOOSE OUR

FUTURE LEADERS

Another year, another ‘nomination process’, which means just under 200 nomination
forms on our original shortlist, six weeks or so of interviews, three months of deliberations
and a year of putting the whole thing together! It’s a lot of work, but 10 years in and it is
indeed still an enjoyable and fun experience, and I am secure in the fact that we really
went all out to find the best 100 young people we could possibly feature at this time.
So, what were we looking for this year, to determine who made it into the magazine?
It’s really important for us to put this out there in as clear a way as possible, to really
encourage future candidates to know exactly what they should be aiming for.
Firstly, since last year we have kept the number of UCAS points at 300 and the
grade average at a 2:1.
Once again we are open to all university years, as long as the individual is no more than 25
years of age, which gives us lots of variety and continues to send the
message out to our readers that you don’t have to wait till you reach a certain age before
you start doing things. After all, last year’s number one was a first year! In addition,
all nominees should be of African or African Caribbean heritage and currently at a UK
university.
But where the nomination process starts to get really interesting for us is looking at what
else each person is doing alongside balancing these grades, specifically when it comes to
leadership. How exactly have they demonstrated this? This is what separates the great
from the good.
So, any young person reading this, ask yourself: how are you making a positive contribution
to others, particularly those younger or more vulnerable than you?
What are you doing that is progressive, and sets you apart from your peers? What is your
special gift or talent, and how are you using it to inspire? Can you be described as ‘a good
role model’? How will you leave your mark at your university once you have moved on?
How is the world, no matter how small a piece of it, better because of you? This might
sound like a tall order, but at one point, everyone featured in this magazine ‘hadn’t started
yet’. Why not make today ‘that day’?

CONTRIBUTORS Alexa Baracaia Mino Omaghomi
Alexa is a freelance journalist who
Mino is a hard-working and
writes on everything from the arts
ambitious young writer who
to finance. She was media and
graduated from the University of
Buckingham in 2018.
showbusiness correspondent of
She has a real passion for writing,
the London Evening Standard and
arts and entertainment editor for
with her areas of special interest
thelondonpaper. More recently, she has
written for publications including The Times, GQ, Tatler,
is fluent in three languages herself, including Spanish.
high50.com and Top Sante. being music, travel and languages – she
She also has experience in the PR field, interning for
She is also a freelance consultant to the hospitality and companies such as Four Communications.
food retail industries, speaking at events and campaigning She enjoys reading print and digital publications,
on related issues. She also hosts support groups for with a particular passion for fictional novels. In her
families of children with serious allergies in association spare time, she runs a small blog, mino-taur.blogspot.com,
with Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and the where she talks about anything and everything that
Anaphylaxis Campaign. interests her.