Mr Jordan Hattar, a former MUNer himself, started working in humanitarian crises at the age of 18 in South Sudan. He has since worked extensively on the Syrian refugee crisis from the country of Jordan and currently runs the charity he co-founded, Help4Refugees. 85 participants from 35 different countries joined Mr Jordan Hattar as he shared anecdotes about his inspirational life and some tips on achieving success.
Like all, Jordan started off with his dreams and goals. However, he could not have achieved any of them without persistence and risk taking. One example of this was his ambition to intern at the White House, when despite seven failed applications he decided to book a flight to Washington DC. It was only after booking his flight his application was accepted and he went on to intern with Michelle Obama in the hope of influencing the Obama Administration’s view on the Syrian Refugee Crisis.
A very prominent theme Jordan highlighted was the importance of mentors. His search for a mentor started in high school and he has since been led through his life by mentors which have guided him through his toughest and hardest moments and shared their experience with him along his journey. Having a ‘why’ can also act as one of the largest driving forces to achieving your dreams and goals. If you are passionate enough about something, you can navigate obstacles which stand in your way, but only with the help of mentors and motivation.
Thinking outside the box can also be pivotal to achieving dreams. A short video telling the story of Denzel Washington, an American actor, director, and producer, told us to ‘fail big’ and take chances. After Jordan finished his internship at the White House, he was offered the chance to continue working on Michelle Obama’s Reach Higher initiative and despite even his father advising him to continue, he decided that his work on refugees would be more beneficial to the many.
Jordan referenced the importance of ‘hearing each other’. This is particularly important in addressing the challenge of an economically driven youth who are less interested in giving back to our communities than our predecessors were. He told us that if we figure out where our passions and the needs of the world intersect, we can make a real difference in our communities.
A presentation laden with inspirational anecdotes ended with some key tips to help anyone achieve their version of success. These included following your passions, ensuring your career aligns with your ‘why’ and being able to say no. Following this, an informative question and answer session helped guide attendees on how to deal with low self-esteem and where to look to find mentors to support us on our journeys. Jordan told attendees that dealing with self-esteem is “a battle” and we should not let anything stop us from reaching our goals. This was particularly apparent as he referenced a quote that he came across which said, “we don’t choose events, events choose us”.
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By William W.