I Thought I Wasn't Qualified Enough to Make a Difference

For a long time, I struggled to believe I had the right to call myself a fundraiser, a storyteller, or a leader.

I never went to school to study fundraising, storytelling, or nonprofit leadership. My journey began with a simple decision: to see a need and choose to act.

For a long time, I wondered whether people would see me as unqualified because I didn't have the formal education behind those titles. I worried that experienced professionals would question whether I belonged.

Then my perspective began to change.

Our first community outreach taught me that serving people is one of life's greatest classrooms. Every conversation, every smile, and every challenge became a lesson.

More recently, I visited the hematology ward. I met families carrying burdens that no parent should ever have to bear. I sat with a mother who had just lost her child. She was overwhelmed with grief, and all I could do was sit beside her, comfort her, and listen.

That moment changed something in me.

As I looked around the ward, I saw children fighting every single day, parents holding onto hope through unimaginable pain, and families who simply needed someone to care enough to stand with them.

I realized that while education is important, compassion cannot be replaced by a certificate. A title alone does not teach you how to sit with someone in their darkest moment. Humanity does.

Those experiences reminded me why I started New Day Initiative. They continue to teach me every day, and they inspire me to keep learning, keep serving, and keep growing into the leader I hope to become.

I'm still learning from people who have walked this path before me. I'm also grateful for people who generously share their experiences and encourage others to keep growing. Matt Mahmood-Ogston is one of those people. Although we've never met, his words have encouraged me to keep learning, keep serving, and to believe that it's okay to grow into the work you're called to do.

I've stopped waiting to feel "qualified enough" before doing work that matters.

Sometimes the first qualification isn't having all the answers.

Sometimes it's simply choosing to care.