The day I had been waiting for!
‘The day I had been waiting for!’ by Khamani Edwards
I got up in the morning of Thursday 19th May 2022, the day I’d been waiting for, for so long. Excited for the big opportunity and day ahead of me, I got dressed, got ready and was on my way to Charlton Athletic Football Club. I arrived and got my pass for the day ahead, and went upstairs to where it was all happening. It was so big; all the exhibitors were getting their stuff ready before doors opened at 9.30. I put the last few, finishing touches to my speech and I was ready for when 10.00 came. I was excited and could not wait to get on stage.
I recognised a lot of familiar faces, as I had done lots of online interviews with the companies in the run-up to the event. You can see these on CENMAC’s Instagram page.
Finally, the moment came. I headed onto the main stage with Toby (Hewson) and Kathryn (Head of CENMAC). Kathryn first welcomed everyone, and then it was my turn to do my speech. It was a huge crowd, but it didn’t phase me as I want to be a television presenter when I am older. I took the mic and introduced myself. I then told everyone the important notices for the day, and then introduced Toby and Robert McLaren (Policy Connect). After that I wished everyone a good day, and everyone went off to the seminars and the exhibition.
Throughout the day, I had to introduce each of the seminars on the mic. I loved MCing for the day. It was great venue as well, being at Charlton FC football ground. It was even greater that Charlton donated a signed, new-season football shirt as a raffle prize. It was especially great finding out about the different kinds of assistive technology that is out. The day went by in a flash. I continued to introduce each seminar as the day went on.
At the end of the day, I announced the winner of the draw for the IPEVO visualiser and then the day came to an end. I enjoyed the day and am very grateful to CENMAC for giving me this opportunity. It really strengthened my passion of wanting to become a tv presenter. I especially liked the artist who was there (Pen Mendonca) and I was the first person to be drawn in her representation of the day.
One of the companies that really fascinated me was No Isolation with the AV1 robot. This is a robot that can be in the classroom while the user can be at home. This can help someone who can’t get into school for any reason to still be included in their learning.
Next year is a big year for me, as I’ll be sitting my GCSEs. I really hope that Communication Works can take place in July once I have finished secondary school, so that I can be the MC again.
Don’t forget you can share your CENMAC experiences for our CENMAC family to enjoy.
