4 Unexpected Benefits of My YLAI Experience
I’ve had some pretty noteworthy experiences in my life so far:
> Roasted marshmallows over an active volcano
> Hung out with hives of Africanized honey bees
> Explored the ruins of the ancient Mayan city of Tikal
> Saw a humpback whale breach in the Atlantic Ocean
And I would easily add my experience as a Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) Fellow to this list.
YLAI alumni will tell you that the Fellowship is excellent for making U.S. business connections and learning a ton of advice that you can apply to your business and make it better.
They’re not lying (I mean, why lie? YLAI. Get it? Lol), but the YLAI experience offers so much more — an extended family, a business advisory board, an expanded regional network, and the opportunity to experience different cultures.
- A new blended family
Following the YLAI 2017 Opening Conference, the 250-strong cohort of Fellows travelled to host city hubs throughout the US in groups of 10–12, with each group representing a variety of countries.
My city hub was Burlington, Vermont. I was the only native English speaker and the only fellow from the English-speaking Caribbean in my group of 10 — everyone else was from Latin America.
Thankfully, their English was good, and they were humoured by my attempts at Spanglish.
The ten of us warmed up to each other pretty quickly — so quickly, in fact, that we were having sibling-style squabbles from the second day.
You know, like the ones with that mischievous little brother (Yes Rolyn, I’m talking about you) who gets a kick out of pranking his sister?
Other family roles quickly emerged too:
> Mama Julia — who always ensured we were on top of our group schedules, scolding those of us who were still operating on Latin American/Caribbean time;
> Jenny, the responsible sister who ensured that I ate each day;
> The little sister who was always running late (Ahem… Tati);
> Jorge, the big brother who always made sure the group remained cohesive;
> Luis, the brother who was always on his own beat but showed up for important family events, and;
> MARIELLA, the sister who was always planning the next party.
We spent a lot of time together learning, hiking, eating, shopping, partying, and even working together to get away from a deranged serial killer at an Escape Room.
Like in any family, conflict arose from time to time, but we dealt with it or agreed to disagree and moved on.
When it was time to leave Burlington, we shamelessly reinforced a Latin American & Caribbean stereotype — many of us showed up at the airport with overweight baggage or too many bags.
However, everything worked out because those with fewer bags took temporary ownership of others’ luggage for flight logistics purposes, while those with overweight bags got some extra space in the bags of the guys who were a bit more sensible with their shopping than us gals.
On the last day of the YLAI programme, there were tears all around the table as we — perfect strangers mere weeks ago — realised just how much we bonded during the four weeks we shared together.
Though we’re once again countries apart, we stay connected through social media and an open invitation to visit whenever we’re in each other’s neck of the woods. Just recently, Veronica from Bolivia visited Alex in Panama during a lengthy layover.
2. Multicultural Immersion
As YLAI fellows, we got to immerse ourselves in American culture, learning the social and business norms of the U.S. but that’s not all.
In my city hub, the 10 of us Fellows represented 10 countries: Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Mexico, and of course, my sweet Trinidad and Tobago.
From Friday to Sunday each week, one Fellow hosted the rest of the Fellows in his/her suite for a dinner party.
At these casual events, we ate the typical food of the Fellow’s country, played games, sang karaoke, and talked about the similarities and differences in our countries.
My suitemate was a Guatemalan chef (How lucky was I?!).
3. An Advisory Board
We easily switched from family vibes to business as we shared ideas with each other, gave feedback during our formal entrepreneurship sessions or during casual conversation, and supported each other and celebrated each other’s wins during the Fellowship.
One of the Fellows, Tatiana, graciously previewed a workshop on Designing for People with the rest of us. She used our feedback to make her awesome presentation for her client even better.
I am forever grateful to my city hub host, Vinson, from the Vermont Council on Global Affairs, who nominated me to speak at the Unconference session of the YLAI Closing Summit, as well as my city hub and Trinidad and Tobago Fellows who believed I had something of value to share and attended the session support.
4. A Powerful Regional Network
The Caribbean Fellows may have been outnumbered 200 to 50 by the Latin Americans, but we showed our might on Talent Night at the Closing Summit with a combined performance featuring the intoxicating music and rhythms of the islands.
We formed an islander WhatsApp group, which we now regularly use to share resources and opportunities (business, funding, conferences, etc.) and to celebrate each other’s triumphs, ask questions, and get advice.
Some Fellows have even found business synergies and are collaborating on projects.
For example, here in Trinidad and Tobago, two Fellows are working on an innovative agriculture project that will kick off in the coming weeks.
I have also been able to tap into the expertise of one of the Fellows to jump-start a new business idea.
A world of new opportunities, new experiences, and new connections await you with YLAI. It all starts with your application.
Kristle Gangadeen
Trinidad and Tobago
YLAI 2017 Alum
