Diana Award Holders Jemima and Elsia recently returned from a once-in-a-lifetime trip to New York City with partner organisation TAPS, where they built new and important skills to support their future careers.
In April two Diana Award Holders – Elsia from Belize and Jemima from England – had the opportunity of a lifetime when they travelled to New York City for a four-day programme with bereavement support service TAPS. Joined by nine other young people from across the world, Jemima and Elsia visited the NFL HQ, Macy’s, The New York Stock Exchange and Good Morning America, while also having the opportunity to learn from leaders in finance, communications, sports and entertainment, and the consulting industries to guide them in their professional development.
Diana Award Holder Jemima said: “I had the privilege of attending the NYC experience event as Diana Legacy Award Holders. This was such an honour and I was so excited to meet all the amazing Legacy Mentors. Once everyone landed we met and all became friends quickly.”
To get their trip started, Elsia and Jemima met with executives from retail giant Macy’s to learn about the retail industry.
“We headed to our first destination, the largest Macy’s department store in the world. Here we were styled by professional stylists. The generosity was unbelievable, we each were given a new business attire outfit for no charge.”
Together with the other young people, they attended a number of exciting engagements which also supported them in their development.
Jemima said: “On our second day we went to Time Square for the filming of Good Morning America. There we went behind the scenes of the news and were part of the audience. After this, we travelled to New York Life, an insurance company, for a panel talk on how to know when you’re on the right career path and how to get there, as well as a presentation on resume building.”
While they learnt lots of new and important skills, Jemima and Elsia also had the opportunity to soak up a few of the cultural experiences that New York has to offer.
Jemima said: “The next day we travelled to the infamous Wall Street and entered the New York Stock Exchange. We then went back to uptown Manhattan to the NFL Headquarters. I gained some great career advice and incredible networking opportunities.”
“The whole experience was magical. I felt so comfortable around everyone and loved how regardless of the differences between us, there was a huge sense of unity. We had all experienced or seen adversity and dedicated our lives to help others. The parallels between the Diana Award and TAPS were plentiful; both set up communities compiled of young people who are working to change aspects other peoples’ lives for the better.”
Jemima said: “For me the highlight of the trip was all the unique insights and experiences that we gained from the trip. The number of things we got to do and see that the average tourist and visitor would not were a real privilege. I also feel like I gained so many new friends.”
“I cannot thank the Diana award or TAPS enough for this unforgettable experience. The work both charities do is incredible and paramount to the positive growth of young people in society.”
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