Becoming a leader of tomorrow

The Leaders of Tomorrow program was a life changer for me. During my final year of university in 2007-08, I noticed an advertisement to apply to the LOT Program. This was the best decision I ever made. Though I had significant work experience through a variety of jobs I had, I was fairly shy and not familiar with networking at all.

The LOT program opened the door for me to attend events, meet business leaders and grow more knowledgeable about the economy and professional development. My mentor, Jack Wong, was an amazing person. He helped me become more self-aware and helped me push myself outside of my comfort zone while setting clear goals and objectives.

During the LOT program, I was responsible for leading a team to research solutions on the services provided to vulnerable people in the downtown east side as part of my assignment to the DTES taskforce. From that experience, I met many community leaders and stakeholders to learn the nature of the situation of the DTES and advocate for solutions. I briefly met with then Premier Gordon Campbell to brief him on our findings and our recommendations. This was something that I was truly terrified of doing as I had not been exposed to government officials and local leaders before. However, that experience pushed my limits and now I attribute my success in my current roles as a board director for several organizations. I am very thankful for the LOT program, and I strongly recommend it to any student who is looking to be exposed to different parts of our economy and to further develop themselves.

Looking back over the last 14-15 years since I graduated from the LOT program, a lot of my successes can be traced back to the LOT program experiences. As a lawyer and a managing member of my law firm, I have the responsibility to manage many aspects of the firm while growing our business. As a result of the LOT program, I was able to develop confidence in networking and leadership of managing teams.

My advice for students is to take advantage of the opportunities that the LOT program presents such as attending events. I attended close to 100 events during my LOT term. Even though some of these events were not related to my career goals, I was able to meet people from all facets of life and businesses which further contributed to my ability to work with a variety of people from different industries. It also expanded my knowledge of our rich and diverse local and national economy. Thank you to the LOT for contributing to my growth as a person and professional over the last 14-15 years through the LOT experience.

Sasha Ramnarine is a former LOT mentee, currently working as a Business Lawyer with Remedios & Company. Learn more about the Leaders of Tomorrow program and apply today.