Finding Our Voice: Empowering Change through Speak Up

The Story

Hello, I'm Shawn from AIESEC in UTAR, Ever since I became an AIESECer I realize that I have grown significantly in the way I communicate and present myself, especially toward a large audience.

Growing up I battled with social anxiety, fearing to speak up to new people and to large crowds, and after years of struggling with social anxiety, I decided to push myself out of my comfort zone by joining SPEAK UP 7.0 as a volunteer in 2022. Joining SPEAK UP made a significant change in me by pushing me to overcome my social anxiety and allowing me to grow and develop myself to be the individual and leader that I am today.

So the purpose of me starting this fundraiser is to raise funds to fund more of these initiatives to provide a chance for the youth who faced similar problems as me. I want to lead by example and show them that it's okay to SPEAK UP and to be yourself and that all it takes is stepping out of your comfort zone. I believe that every youth has a voice that can make a difference in this world and in our community.

Furthermore, SPEAK UP also provides the basics of STEAM-related knowledge that can help provide a basis for the less unfortunate students to utilize their ideas and to provide them an opportunity to experience STEAM-related activities that are seemingly more important in the current generation where digitalization takes place almost everywhere. Hence the funds raised will be used to provide more of these initiatives and opportunities for these students to ensure they are able to be up to date with the current developments and to provide them with workshops and training to enhance their skills.

I believe with this small gesture; we are able to impact lives as little actions can make a big difference. I hope all of you are inspired to donate to this good cause!