ALSA UK Empowerment Summit: Be Brave, Take the Next Step

Klea Kojko

There's something quite special about bringing together people at different stages of their careers, all trying to figure out the same thing: what's next?

That was one of my favourite things about the ALSA UK Empowerment Summit. The day brought together students, young professionals and members of the wider community for a mix of inspiring talks, career conversations, workshops and, of course, plenty of opportunities to meet new people.

We started the day with a fantastic line-up of speakers, each bringing a completely different career journey to the room.

Enkeleda Kadiu spoke about her journey into dentistry and the setbacks she faced along the way. She was initially rejected from dentistry, but instead of giving up, she found another route and eventually made it into the profession. She later went on to open her own dental practice. One message that really stood out was her advice to stop overthinking and “just do it”. Taking the first step can be scary, but having people around you who believe in your vision can make it feel a lot less daunting.

Drenny Bajri shared a very different career story, talking about her journey into AI and marketing and the unconventional route she took to get there. She reminded us that you don't need to have everything figured out, and that no one is ever really “ready” for the next step. Sometimes, you just have to make yourself ready and trust that you will figure things out as you go.

Her advice went beyond careers too. She spoke about building your personal brand, using LinkedIn to create opportunities, pushing yourself outside your comfort zone and, perhaps most importantly, dealing with rejection. “Rejection is redirection” was one phrase that definitely stuck with me.

We also heard from Jonathan Ellis, who shared some great advice on public speaking and communicating with an audience. His simple reminder to “practise, practise, practise” was something I think we could all take away from the day!

After the talks, it was time to get involved. The careers fair gave attendees the chance to speak directly to professionals and learn about different industries, from law and healthcare to finance and beyond. It was great seeing people asking questions, sharing experiences and discovering opportunities they might not have considered before.

The afternoon then moved into workshops, including a leadership session with Arisa and a careers workshop with Drenny focused on navigating the job market and taking that next step. These sessions gave everyone the chance to move beyond simply listening and actually think about how the advice from the day could apply to their own careers.

Of course, no ALSA event would be complete without the networking. One of my favourite parts of the Summit was meeting people with completely different interests and ambitions and hearing about where they wanted to go next. It was easy to start conversations, and by the end of the day, it felt like much more than just a room full of strangers.

Looking back, one of my biggest takeaways from the Summit was the importance of having the right people around you. People who encourage you, believe in your ideas and remind you to go for it when you're overthinking things.

Careers don't always follow a straight line. You might change your mind, face rejection or end up somewhere you never expected. And that's okay. You don't need to have everything figured out; sometimes, you just need the courage to take the next step.

A huge thank you to all our speakers for sharing their experiences so openly, to everyone who joined us on the day, and to the ALSA UK committee for helping bring the Summit together.