On December 13 and 15, 2021, our students Liam Sassay, Grade 10, Bernardo Monteiro, Grade 11, and Sayna Zahrai, Grade 12, participated in the XConnect 2021 event and received the Promising Youth Award.
On the thirteenth, students listened to lectures and took workshops on entrepreneurship, leadership, creativity, and problem-solving. During the afternoon, they participated in a startup hackathon. Each group of students representing different schools in Brasília had to develop a product that would be the heart of their startup. After developing their concept, they had to show how applicable it was and present prototypes of its design and functionality. Everyone in the group participated in the production and presentation (also known as the pitch). Our student, Sayna Zahrai, was a member of the startup team that won.
On the evening of the fifteenth, students received their Promising Youth 2021 Certificates at a special award ceremony called Baile de Capas. Mentors, coordinators, and family members were present.
Here’s what our students had to say about the event.
"First of all, I really liked it when Henrick called me in the classroom. I thought it was an incredible opportunity to interact more with entrepreneurship, to think more about our future. I really liked the activity where we developed our product.
I think it was the start of something we can use in the future to be more successful. Even if we don’t become entrepreneurs, just having an experience where we started to have the autonomy to create our own source of income was very helpful."
Liam Sassay, Grade 10
"I thought it was really cool because I had no idea the event existed. So, when Henrick came into the room and I received the invitation, I was very happy. I had a great experience. I met a lot of nice people to exchange ideas with. We made projects, and it was very interesting to have this experience as if it were a work environment. I also felt welcome.
It will certainly help me professionally. Even though I don’t know what I want to do, the event helped me understand that it might be an area I can pursue."
Bernardo Monteiro, Grade 11
"When I was chosen, I was very happy. At first, I didn’t understand what I had won. But then I realized how great it was to be chosen out of everyone in my grade to represent the School. I will never forget the XConnect experience! I learned a lot from all the dynamics we did to create our own project. My group even won the startup hackathon. What we learned there was the basis of our knowledge about leadership and the positive and negative things happening in the world. It was really an honor to participate! It was only when I was at the closing ceremony, receiving my certificate, that I really came into my own.
I learned it is possible to create my own company, to become a leader. Yes, you can become an impact on the world!"
Sayna Zahrai, Grade 12