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HAVERGAL COLLEGE
She credits her supportive team for allowing
her to develop this skill.
Besides rowing, Stellato has also been a
member of Sports Council, the Swim team,
the Field Hockey team, Spanish Club and
Dance Troupe, which she has participated
in for four years. She also passed along the
confidence she learned from performing
onto others when she volunteered in
Grade 11 for Dance for Life, a community
partnership that teaches underprivileged
children in Grades 3 and 4 to dance.
Asked directly about confidence, Stellato
says the assumptions that the public makes
about girls often frustrates her. “There are
a lot of stereotypes. That makes me angry,
because nobody should have to be or act a
certain way that makes them uncomfortable.
I’m really big on just being yourself; who
cares about what people think of you. Make
yourself happy and that’s all that matters,”
says Stellato.
She adds that she’s learned to internalize
that mantra by intentionally reshaping her
own approach to social media. “I used to
care a lot about my social media and what
I made myself look like for social media.
I used to think that if somebody went to
my Instagram profile, they needed to see
that I’m this type of person. Now the way
I portray myself on social media is very
different—I tend to post funnier photos,
where I don’t have make up on. If you saw
me at school you’d be like, ‘That’s exactly
the girl I saw on Instagram.’”
She even has a ready definition of
confidence: “Confidence means to me:
the ability to just go out there and try my
best without being scared. To be able to go
out of my comfort zone, even when I don’t
want to,” says Stellato. She adds that she
likes what she’s seen of the new Havergal
campaign. “It gives people a different
perspective on stereotypes.”
If asking students in the thick of it is a way
to gauge what it really means to be confident
in 2016, turning to an Old Girl is a great way
to see how confidence can make a difference
beyond the walls of Havergal. A relatively
recent graduate from the class of 2010, Simrin
Desai started out at Havergal in Grade 4
and, throughout her time at the school, was
involved in the orchestra (she played double
bass), Swim team, Badminton team and
Tennis team, capping off her time by taking
on the role of Prefect in her final year.
Megan Stellato has a passion for rowing and dance.
Confidence means to
me: the ability to just
go out there and try
my best without being
scared.
—Megan Stellato, Grade 12