Sayantha Baskaran

Proud Skills Canada Floristry Gold Medalist at the provincial level. A competition I pursued with no hope of winning because I thought this wasn’t a skill for me.

2016, I signed up to make my teacher’s come true. For a very long time, she had been searching for a student who will compete under the category of floristry representing St. Mother Teresa Catholic Academy. I wanted an outlet for my creative spark and I was crazy about floral designs, so I decided to sign up. I immediately started my training with Margret from Florida Flowers. An amazing experience that developed my ability to work under pressure and instilled the habit of practicing a skill.

Despite all the hard work, and effort I only placed sixth out of eight. The following year was my final year in high school, and I didn’t have it in me to fuel the energy to compete but my parents and teachers encouraged me to give it another shot. I didn’t try as hard to train but I still wanted to do it for those who believed in me. I went, I performed and succeeded.

I still remember walking up the stage in disbelief that it was me who had placed first. However, that is when I realized if I had not been attentive to the feedback I received and implemented it the second time around, I would not have been able to set myself apart and take home my gold medal.