Isabel Hazan

Analyst at Leaders Fund | 2016 Scholar

GETTING THE SCHOLARSHIP
"I was in the kitchen of my parents’ home. I had just come back from school and I had opened my email. I was so shocked. I couldn't believe it. I called my dad right away. He then called his mom, my grandmother, and then she called me, and then my mom was at work and I was calling her. Before all this, my guidance counsellor told me it would be good practice to have a fellowship. I was not expecting it at all!”

HOW IT STARTED

Born 1998, Toronto, Canada.

HOW IT'S GOING

"As a venture capital analyst, I now spend my time finding, analyzing, and investing in early stage technology companies."

“Pay attention to the things that you get excited to do and that light you up. Finding meaning in your work because that is life at its richest. When you are doing hard work, and you enjoy the challenges that come with it, that's the best way you can spend your day. Don’t worry too much early on on what will come out of it.”
“I have a very big family. My dad's one of seven, so I have a lot of cousins. There's a lot of subtle nuances that come with having a big family. You have a lot more close, meaningful relationships automatically. Everyone really loves and appreciates each other so much and I’ve always felt loved and supported, which gives me more self-assurance. I wish everyone had a big family!”

ISABEL'S MAGIC

GO EASY ON YOURSELF

When you're a teenager, everything feels like the end of the world. One of my biggest concerns is children's mental health, especially this younger generation because they're growing up on social media with an infinite amount of influences on them and way before they have the mental faculties to digest these things. It makes it easy to be really hard on yourself. But if you as a young person can try and replace those feelings with pride that you're trying at something that you're not amazing at, it’s a signal that you are propelling yourself forward.

THAT ONE TEACHER

Having a teacher that can put themselves in the shoes of a 12 year old can be quite impactful to a young person. I was lucky to have a lot of great mentors in my life. Mr. Epstein helped me apply to a research program that I did in Israel for a summer. He was super helpful and invested time on me. I wouldn't have had that amazing experience without him.

PLAYING SPORTS

(From a young age) I had to learn to balance school and a gymnastics schedule. I matured a lot quicker because I was given a lot of personal responsibility. I also learned a lot about myself through gymnastics. There's many feelings that come with doing that sport. Fear, pain and stress- all of these things you're pushed up against early in life helps you develop discipline, grit and determination. This has been extremely helpful in my other achievements.

THE WRITE TOOLS

Journaling is very powerful. If you can articulate your thoughts on paper it’s easier because you even need to even talk to anyone, you can do it on your own. You don't have to make yourself vulnerable if that makes you uncomfortable. For me, it’s a very useful tool, it provides helpful feedback for you to move in a direction that's more aligned with yourself. When all of those thoughts are swirling in your head, it's very hard to distinguish what's what and what's truth and what's just noise to put you in the direction of success.

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