Jade Hunt is a nursing student from the University of Plymouth. In this blog, Jade shares her story from getting accepted in the programme on her second attempt, to attending the Welcome Event in Manchester in September 2023. Jade explains how formative this journey has been for her.
In the first year of my nursing degree, I was encouraged to create a Twitter (now known as X) account to network and share my learning journey. As it was 2021 and much of my learning was still online, I took this opportunity to connect with people and threw myself into it. Soon I saw the 150 Leaders welcome conference coming up on my feed. I just thought to myself this looks amazing, I want to be there. I researched online and made a note of when I would be able to apply for the next cohort. However, I applied and was unsuccessful. This was a knock to my confidence, but I followed the journeys of this next cohort and the amazing things they achieved in awe via social media. Again, the deadline came, and I applied. This time I focused more on what I wanted to achieve through the 150 leader’s student leadership programme; having the opportunity to network and connect with other passionate healthcare students and to have a knowledgeable coach who can support me in completing my own leadership project. To my complete surprise, I was successful. I am still so shocked and privileged to have this incredible opportunity.
I waited with anticipation for the welcome conference, a two-day event that took place in Manchester this year. Prior to the conference, we had a virtual information session, and this meant we could ask questions, prepare for the conference, and create a WhatsApp group for this year’s cohort. It was so lovely to have this space connect and introduce ourselves. Finally, the day came to travel to Manchester, I was equal parts excited and nervous. I still didn’t really know what to expect! Once registered, we had to queue for a photo to put on our feedback boxes. These feedback boxes were one of the highlights of the event. During the conference you wrote positive feedback to people and posted it anonymously in these feedback boxes. In the queue, I was immediately put at ease meeting a lovely member of my cohort who was so welcoming, and we chatted and after taking our photos got lunch. At my lunch table, I chatted with others, introducing ourselves, our fields, and where we were based. Everyone appeared to be as enthusiastic and excited as I was.
The conference started with an icebreaker task (which wasn’t as cringy as I was expecting) that highlighted the diversity of our cohort. We then had talks from three 150 Leaders alumni. Raymond Amoako talked passionately about his achievements but for me, I really took away from it the power of saying no and knowing when to pass the baton on. Shannon Gorman shone through her passion for ensuring equality for Deaf British Sign Language users in accessing healthcare. She showed how your project doesn’t need to be one big achievement but lots of smaller wins and opportunities. Finally, it was Allyson Omoniyi who just blew me away such a compassionate confident leader. She showed that nursing is a global profession and there are opportunities all around the globe to lead.
The conference continued over the two days with learning about navigating imposter syndrome, strategic networking, being a compassionate and entrepreneurial leader, and goal setting. I learned so much, far too much to put into words here. However, sitting in that room for two days with professionals who were excited for the future, passionate about healthcare, and focused on making a positive change. It inspired me and lit a fire in my belly. On the train journey home, I read all these lovely things from my feedback box and I felt.
