Stand Up and Speak: Camper Interview with Hashir Jaffry

Watch our Camper interview with Hashir Jaffry to hear firsthand what children experience and how they grow at Stand Up and Speak.

Transcript of the interview

How did you know this camp was the right fit?

Stand Up and Speak kind of had the highest reviews. To be completely honest, I think my parents actually were trying to find public speaking programs for me to enroll in. And so when I first went there to my first class, it was in grade nine, I actually really enjoyed it a lot. I actually think my parents only signed up my younger brother, or it was me and then they signed up my younger brother. But I kind of enjoyed the program so much, or my brother enjoyed it so much, that both of us, my younger brother and I, kind of continued going and attending these classes, and we signed up for multiple years.

What makes Stand Up and Speak special?

I think it's the community vibe of being close to teachers like Miss Nadi, Miss Jekyll, and then it's also the community vibe with your peers. So right in front of them, you're going to go up on stage in front of the classroom and give an impromptu speech or a speech you had 10 minutes to write about, and really spill the beans on the juice of your thoughts and share with everyone, and get their feedback on how you spoke and what your thoughts are on.

What memories stand out to you most?

I would say it's the public speaking competitions that Stand Up and Speak really allows you and prepares you to compete in. And so you get to travel across the city, across the province, competing in all these competitions. And teachers like Ms. Jekyll spend a lot of time training you, prepping you, rehearsing you, so you can kind of go and succeed in these competitions. I think that's one of the most fun times when you're winning these competitions.

What would you do differently if you had a chance?

Nothing really. I think public speaking is such an important life skill that everyone needs to have, and so it shouldn't be disregarded in any aspect. Having as much preparation in public speaking is key to success in life. And so for anyone, I think they should constantly be going to public speaking sessions like Stand Up and Speak and participating in as many competitions as possible, and kind of developing that life skill. And I think I was able to do that at Stand Up and Speak.

Do you keep in touch with the friends you made?

Yeah, a lot of my friends are actually in the same university as me, and so we kind of get to hang out sometimes here and there.

What have you learned about yourself?

I think one thing I've learned is that when you have a lot of support from people around you who know more about public speaking than you, your learning growth grows and exceeds exponentially. And the bar that you can achieve is significantly higher than you thought.

Was it fun to be challenged? Did you find more confidence?

It was good for me to be challenged. Because public speaking is something that's actually very scary. I think the statistic is that the number one fear in the world in life is public speaking, and number two is death. And so even though you may not like to do public speaking, it's challenging. But I think eventually, after the program, a lot of people will say that public speaking is not that scary compared to death.

What advice would you give to new campers/students?

I would say take part in as many competitions as possible. Every competition that Stand Up and Speak offers or is collaborating with, I would go and do it. Try to do as much as possible in the classroom. So go beyond; rather than spending five minutes writing your speech beforehand, why don't you try to do it impromptu? And put yourself in a lot of challenges. Because that's when you actually learn the most. No pain, no gain.

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