keynote speech @ Pride of Newcastle Awards

Last week I was extremely proud to give the keynote speech at the Pride of Newcastle University Awards.

I studied at Newcastle so it was an honour to be asked back to speak and to hear about some of the amazing things both current and former students are doing. It was pretty humbling to be honest.

When considering what to say, I was clear that I didn't want to 'give advice'. Instead I presented a few of my experiences and asked the audience some questions to consider. The speech closed with this:

“If you’re prepared to stand up and be yourself, no matter your flaws and imperfections, if you show the world what you care about and try your best, not only is that a great accomplishment in itself, it may just lead you to a life you’re happy to lead. And if there’s the slightest chance of that happening? Then it’s probably worth taking a risk or two. Thank you.”

Thanks to everyone at the university for inviting me and to everyone present for listening.