On Friday 11 November, I was invited to host the Duke of Edinburgh scheme’s first ever Youth Without Limits 3Live: #beyondthecv event, hosted at Google HQ in London. The event’s planning was a collaboration between staff at the DofE and the Youth Ambassadors, with the purpose of providing
a series of sessions helping to bridge the gap between education and employment, which is a key issue facing young people.

Myself, along with another Ambassador, Eoin, took to the stage for the day, and I made introductions, hosted a panel discussion, conducted a fireside interview, and made reflections upon each of the speakers and workshops throughout the event. With an audience of 220 DofE award scheme participants from around the UK, as well as a live stream via the DofE socials, it’s safe to say we arrived in the morning at the office with a lot of nerves. However, throughout the day we became more comfortable, and also had the opportunity to meet and learn from successful DofE alumni, and supporters, including Tim Campbell MBE (first winner of The Apprentice, and Lord Sugar’s aide), Major David Love, Anoushe Hussein and Leon Marseglia. These speakers are all key examples of success stories in their fields, despite adversity, and
importantly, are all DofE award holders to some extent.

The day was ultimately a huge growth experience for me – stepping outside of my comfort zone to present to an unfamiliar audience tested the ability to adapt in a stressful situation. However, I learned a lot from each of the speakers and panelists, and the event on a whole was a clear illustration of the value of the DofE award scheme, beyond its place as a line on your CV.

Anya K, Year 12