To live the dream of the people back home,

To create the life I never had for my future family,

To retire my parents,

All in the name of God.

These are 3 of my main purposes. This is what got me my apprenticeship. I spent far longer than 50 hours researching companies and applying relentlessly but it was my deep conviction that got me to where I am today.

February half term 2025, after a hard couple of months filled with calamities and hardship, I forced myself into a state of deep reflection. In 2 full days I sat with every question, thought, and feeling that I felt I was holding in for many years. Asking who, what, when, where, how, and most importantly why. I left with the most valuable assets that still carry to this day forward. My why, a vivid vision of my future, and a system the I will share with all of you. In this blog, I will show you a glimpse of my story but also the method to my madness.

In that same summer, step by step, I got myself out of my comfort zone. Starting as a simple compliment to a stranger, then a message per day on LinkedIn, and finally applying to every insight day and work experience. My goal for the summer was to specialise my interests into one industry, having previously explored several fields that all sparked my curiosity. What followed was me attending 10+ work experiences, events, and insight days across all industries. Which industry enticed me the most? Finance. Client facing finance.

My first networking event also then turned into an opportunity to speak at the next hosted event only a month after my first interactions. That same student community is now the fastest growing in the UK and I can proudly say I am the head of finance enrichment opportunities.

That was my summer before year 13 in a nutshell but if you want to see more, head over to my social media where you can see everything documented. Before I begin explaining the rollercoaster of Y13 I want to break my purposes down slightly more.

To live the dream of the people back home:

I come from a small town in south Lebanon that is deprived of opportunity, livelihood, and peace but filled with talent, immense determination, and diligent resilience. That is why it is my absolute duty to strive every single day to achieve my goals while grasping onto every opportunity that comes my way.

To create the life I never had for my future family:

My future family deserve the opportunity to have access to everything they can possibly fathom, and I will do everything in my means to give them anything they want. This is a desire that comes from a lesson/phrase I learnt from my dad. An Arabic (Lebanese) way to answer someone else is desire is 'Dabir' which translates to I will make it happen.

This isn't a maybe but instead almost a declaration to say I will do everything in my power to get you this thing even if I can't in this moment.

To retire my parents:

This speaks for itself and after all the struggle my parents have lived through, they deserve the world.

Now Y13 summed up in a paragraph. A strong sprint into the year was hit very hard from rejection after rejection after rejection. I had a problem. Every application I would do, I put my entire heart into it. The lengthy cover letter, personalised C.V and plenty of research. Every rejection felt like a shot in the back. My identity was tied into achieving my goal. It ruined me. I went 6 months with nearly 0 social interaction to relentlessly chase my goal. This did way more damage than and all my progress dissipated. I was working past burn out because of how obsessed I was with the outcome. It was late in the academic year, time was ticking, but I knew, no matter how long this takes. I will win. I will get that offer. It's either this year, next year, or even the next. No matter how many rejections it takes. Every rejection was just one step closer. My problem wasn't me or anything directly in my applications. But it was my purposes. The one thing that made me relentless? After speaking to someone about my problems I was enlighten of something I didn't see. My purposes were all about giving and achieving. I learnt I am more than the goals I set out. I am Zakeria Hawila. The same person who had nothing to his name but inspired people and built a meaningful network by being himself in an imperfect environment. It's more than just material. It's beyond the CV. 14th April 2026 at 11:26 I get a call...

Before I explain the phone call that changed my life, I'll explain the system that got me there. James Clear says, 'You don't rise to the level of your goals; you fall to the level of your systems' so I stole and adapted a system my brother taught me. The 3-legged stool. Every goal can be categorised into these 3 legs: Health, Social, and Career/School. Every 3 months you fill these in and then turn them into daily actions to achieving them. There is a lot more detail but let's get back to that phone call.(Message me if you want to break it down further.)

... Sitting in maths while being sleep deprived and having the entire class talking after coming back from a really draining 2 week half term. Is my phone ringing? I take my phone out of my blazer pocket and glance at it. I could've sworn this number was familiar, yet it wasn't saved. I froze and the call was about to go to voicemail. I answer the phone in the middle of class and walk out immediately.

"Hi this is [...] calling from [...] emerging talent team is this, Zakeria?" Is this it? Was this the moment?

"Great, well we have some feedback regarding your application"

My heart dropped. I through this was another application wasted. Feedback is usually interpreted as negative. This time it wasn't.

"We would like to continue you an offer to join us in September" I'm not exaggerating when I say I went ballistic; I finally did it.

This was my six-form chapter but now it's your turn. This is your story. Now write.

Zakeria Hawila

Incoming CCB Degree Apprentice @Santander | LEAF Finance Enrichment Lead | Public Speaker

You can find out more and connect with Zakeria on LinkedIn.