Relationship Building, Daniel’s Award Story

The Duke of Edinburgh Award takes pride in fostering relationships with peers, mentors, and community organizations through building skills and networking. Daniel is a Gold Participant who has reached goals beyond what he set, built relationships with peers, and learned leadership qualities through action.   

 Meet Daniel  

“My name is Daniel Zhao, and I am a Grade 11 student at St. Andrew’s College, a boarding school in Aurora, Ontario. I was born and raised in Richmond Hill, Ontario, moved to Prince Edward Island when I was in Grade 6, and came back to Ontario in Grade 10 as a boarding student at St. Andrew’s College. I have finished my Bronze and Silver Duke of Edinburgh Awards and am currently working towards my Gold Award. The Award Centres I was involved with were Duke of Edinburgh PEI and Duke of Edinburgh St. Andrew’s College. 

 My Mentor 

During my time as a participant, my father stood out to me as a mentor. My father has always been there to give me that extra push, whether I’m competing in my sport at a national level or just practicing my craft. My father always gives me that push whenever I’m feeling demotivated. There were weeks when I didn’t want to do any of the work, especially while I was finishing my Bronze and Silver Awards. However, my father always managed to inspire me through his long motivational talks. Although sometimes boring, those talks genuinely helped me realize how valuable these skills are to me in the long run. I will be forever grateful. I honestly don’t think I would be where I am now without my father’s motivation. 

Building Relationships  

One unexpected benefit of the Award has been the relationships I’ve made throughout my Adventurous Journeys. Since Grade 9, I’ve met people that share similar goals and ambitions as me. I was able to form invaluable relationships with people who have become some of my closest friends as a result of the Award. 

“Although we were all unique in our own ways, we all have one thing in common: working towards a goal.”

• Daniel Zhao

Reaching Goals 

My favorite aspect about the Award is how it challenged me to step outside my comfort zone! The Award inspired me to study new things that I never believed I’d be able to learn. If you had told me two years ago that I would be learning the piano, I would have thought you were crazy! I sincerely appreciate how the Award motivates me to develop and excel at a certain objective I set for myself. When I’m feeling unmotivated, I consider there’s a weekly log to fill leading to my end goal. The Online Record Book and SMART Goals motivates me to perform better than my previous week. 

Leadership Building 

The Award program has taught me one of the most important leadership skills: leading by example. During my Silver Adventurous Journey, my group faced a problem. Some members were scared to set up tents because they had no prior experience and didn’t want to make a mistake, while others didn’t have motivation. I knew telling my group members to set up tents wouldn’t work, so instead, I decided to take initiative and set a good example by setting up a tent by myself. Naturally, my group members stepped up and wanted to assist me with setting tents up. When we all contributed to setting up tents, we built team chemistry and were much more efficient since everyone was working together. 

Why You Should Join The Award 

I believe others should join The Award because it truly develops a well-rounded individual. Not only are you meeting amazing people through the Award, but you are also keeping active, giving back to your community, and best of all, developing valuable skills. The skills you learn from The Award can be used anywhere in your future endeavors. For example, if you were to go out camping in the future, you would have prior experience from the Adventurous Journey, impressing all your friends with your camping knowledge and skills. If you lost a button your blazer, don’t worry – I learned how to sew through the Award. Have a football tournament next week? I’m ready. I built super strong cardio through my physical component of my Duke of Edinburgh Award. The Award will turn you into a better version of yourself and trust me, you’ll be thankful in the future.” 

• Daniel Zhao 

We are so proud of Daniel and excited to see him achieve more goals and make an impact in his community. We hope Daniel has inspires you to Join The Award, Volunteer with The Award, or Become an Award Centre.      

Author: 

Shelan Emre 

Shelan is an active member of her community who is committed to making a positive impact. Her Award accomplishments include being a Bronze, Silver, and Gold Award Achiever, Award Leader, Passion to Purpose participant, Grant recipient, and Speaker, as well as working with The Award in Canada as an Award Specialist and in Marketing Communications. 

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