By Rimsha Ali Shah.

Standing in the center of the Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA) ground for the third installment of Music Mela, Kamran Javed was feeling the mid-day April heat but his focus did not falter.  Having previously served as the logistics lead for the first two Music Melas, Javed was now promoted to Project Coordinator for this year’s Music Mela, where he was in control of multiple teams working to finalize the set up: sound, stage, seating, check!   The now confident young leader recounts his experience of 2007 as the first batch of students in the English Micro-scholarship Access Program and could not have imagined he would be heading logistics for the biggest music festival in Pakistan, in addition to conducting his own Alumni small grant project, serving as an international scouts trainer and a mentor to young access students and alumni and being recognized as an Emerging Leader within the Pakistan-U.S. Alumni Network (PUAN).  We sat down to talk to Javed and learn more about his experiences now and as an Access student.

“Back in the day, I used to struggle with speaking up in front of others.  Language had become a self-made barrier and I remember shying away from public speaking.  But with my induction in the Access program, all this and a lot more changed.”

Since graduating from the Access program in 2009, Javed has become a part of the 15,000 alumni that make up PUAN.  This association has opened up avenues of opportunity for him, including serving as the planning committee member for major international conferences such as the International Women Empowerment Conference, Global Entrepreneurship Week Conference, and Music Mela.

For two years, 2007-2009, Javed took three classes a week which were divided in to English language: writing, speaking and reading.  “With the passage of time, as I gained skills in speaking and writing in English, I started shedding off the disbelief and doubt I had about my abilities.”  As a young scout with the Pakistan Boy Scout Association, Javed started applying the skills he learned during his weekly Access classes.  “We worked in groups quite often on our language projects in class and this helped me to understand the dynamics of working in a team.  I was able to apply the same principals and work in collaboration with my fellow scouts, as well.”

In 2015, Javed’s success as a leader and team player in the Pakistan Boy Scouts Association led to his selection as a trainer for the International Scouts Camp Staff Program in Denver, Colorado, organized by the Scouts of America.  Already a Quaid-e-Azam Batch holder (equivalent to the eagle scout in the U.S.), Javed was invited to train young scouts in the U.S. in mountain biking and archery.  In addition to this arduous training routine, Javed also delivered presentations to Boy Scouts on the “Scouting Culture in Pakistan.”

“When I gave the weekly presentations to groups of 70 – 90 young scouts, I was confident and composed.  The Access program had equipped me with the skills to not only make effective presentations, but also deliver them in an engaging manner.  My strong communication skills helped me in making connections with scouts from all across the world at this training camp.”  At the end of the program, Javed successfully trained around 2000 young scouts in mountain biking and archery!

Following his scout exchange, Javed pitched the idea for The 2015 Young Leaders Scout Camp.  “I wanted to share what I had learned in the U.S. with the young scouts and Access alumni in Pakistan,” said Javed.  The project engaged 120 participants for three days of activities in leadership, inclusion and co-operation.  Ambassador Olson, an American eagle scout and life-long scouting proponent, was the chief guest of the occasion.  This project was made possible with the help of $5,000 USD grant from PUAN.  All alumni of various U.S. government sponsored exchange programs in Pakistan are eligible to apply for the grant to enable them to give back to their communities.  Read more about the successfully conducted project by clicking here.

“PUAN gave me the opportunity to conduct a project I was passionate about.  The entire journey from 2007 till date has been one where I have not stopped evolving.” commented Javed.

Since his successful completion of Access in 2009, Javed has gone on to mentor and train Access students and alumni across Pakistan by conducting  training sessions on self-development, team-building, confidence-building exercises through in-door and outdoor training activities.  “Through these conferences, we [the alumni] are also able to continuously exchange our learning and build on our skills.”