Leading by example.

Christian Westin, Alumnus

Christian Westin is inspired by great leadership and wanted to create an opportunity for his fellow students to interact with some of the greatest leaders in the Lower Mainland. His passion and drive led to the creation of one of Langara’s largest and most successful student-led events: the TEDxLangara conference.

As a third-year business student, Westin was inspired to initiate the conference while working for Bill Sleeman, the Vice-Chairman of the Jim Pattison Group. He wanted his fellow students to have the same opportunity that he was experiencing – learning from the industry leaders. Taking a leadership role, Westin worked with the Langara School of Management, College administration, and student volunteers to deliver a program of events that attracted star speakers from Vancouver to present at TEDxLangara. The lineup included former Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan, Vancouver Foundation President and CEO Faye Wrightman, Nettwerk Music Group Co-founder and CEO Terry McBride, and Vancouver Board of Trade President and CEO (and Former BC Minister of Labour) Iain Black.

“I had such a unique opportunity to learn some really great lessons from one of BC's business titans – something that few (if any) of my classmates had had – and I thought it would be a great idea if we could ask some other really successful leaders to share their inspiring thoughts with the next generation. TEDx gave us the perfect platform in which to do that, and I suppose the rest is history. Anything I can do to help facilitate successful people imparting wisdom to the next generation is something I'm excited to be involved with.”

“The lasting legacy of TEDxLangara for me has been the friends I've made, as well as the connections to other nonprofit ventures. Former Mayor Sam Sullivan was one of our speakers, as well as being a fellow Langara alumnus, and TEDxLangara paved the way for me to become involved in his Public Salons and Greeting Fluency Events.”

“My advice to other Langara students interested in a similar experience would be: challenge yourself, show passion, be involved, and give back – you won't regret it. It might seem a little scary at first, but I think that everyone who comes here quickly discovers that Langara is truly a community, where people (from the instructors, to staff members, to fellow students) are very supportive and are genuinely excited for you to succeed.”