Sehlah Butt, From Belcamp, MD, Speaks at Ignite Balimore Event

2017 May 8

Stevenson University student Sehlah Butt had the opportunity to speak and share her story at an inspiration event known as Ignite Baltimore.

Ignite Baltimore's Facebook page describes the event as this: "If you had five minutes on stage, what would you say to Baltimore? What if you only got 20 slides and they rotated automatically after 15 seconds? At every Ignite Baltimore event, 16 artists, technologists, entrepreneurs, and philosophers answer this challenge."

Sehlah had a lot to say about her experience, and how she was selected for this opportunity. Below, is her story of speaking at Ignite Baltimore.

"All ready to go and fight for my rights as an immigrant, I was headed to the march against the Immigration Ban with a few friends. While on the ride there, I was reading through my emails when, suddenly, I came across an email from Morgan Somerville about speaking at Ignite Baltimore. I have been putting this opportunity off for a good year now and it was time to go ahead and just do it. On my way to the march, I sent my application in and within a short two weeks, I was selected to speak among 10 out of 40 applicants who applied. This event was not just any speaking event, this year the theme revolved around women empowerment. So excited to speak, I quickly started to practice my speech about "Breaking the Mold as a Third Cultured Kid". April 12th, the day of Ignite Baltimore, rolled around pretty fast and it was time to speak. As I entered the Motor House, I had the opportunity to meet the other amazing women speaking that night. A majority of the speakers were either business women, young entrepreneurs, or even lawyers. An hour passed by and it was my turn to speak. When I was up on stage all I could think about was how far I had come with this passion of mine and just imagining how far I can go with it. Afterwards, I received a lot of positive feedback from the audience and other fellow speakers. My passion showed and my message was conveyed about how hard it is to balance all the expectations in your life. From this experience I learned that we all have a story to tell and you never know who will be inspired by it or benefitted. Ignite Baltimore was a good experience and I thank Morgan for supporting my passion."

Congratulations Sehlah!