2022 Winners

2022 Student Leadership Award Winners

Allie Lynch

Allie Lynch is currently a student attending the College of the North Atlantic (CNA) Ridge Road campus, in St. John’s Newfoundland and Labrador, and is enrolled in the Mechanical Engineering Technology (Manufacturing) Co-op program. Additionally, she is a Personal Care Attendant / Home Support Worker (PCA/HSW), a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), an avid volunteer, a patented inventor of the Splinted Compression Bandage (https://forsalebyinventor.com/products/splinted-compression-bandages/ ), with a further 102 ideas that are still being processed and a Chief Innovation Officer of a veteran-owned, emerging technology firm. She also happens to have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

She has worn many hats, in her 32 years of life and strongly believes that people do not have to choose one path, to chase their own passions and self-actualization. Becoming who you are meant to be; takes time and patience with oneself!
Allie has volunteered across multiple organizations in her life, including, but not limited to:

• Throughout 2014- 2018; volunteered at the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) St. John’s chapter, as an animal care attendant and key holder/supervisor/fundraiser.
• Most recently, since May of 2021; has been using online social media platforms to organize and, has been physically hosting 13 protests in support of adolescent survivors of sexual assault, during the bail hearings of the accused, which have garnered some attention in the local media. He remains behind bars, to this very day. She believes that awareness is the key! She says she will be standing by the survivors’ side until they feel safe and secure again.

In September 2021, Allie was diagnosed with ADHD. In her quest to learn more about this condition, she began to understand herself on a more holistic level, than ever before. Such as different organizational methods (e.g., the pile system), a tendency to interrupt others when getting passionate about topics, daydreaming, random and uncontrollable instances of hyper-focus, forgetting simple tasks that had just been discussed and consistently feeling like she was behind everyone else and missing key points. She came to realize that people with ADHD are atypical and usually great at divergent thinking (thinking outside of the box). Now, being treated for this condition; she can control some of those aspects she had once categorized as weaknesses.

She now understands that ADHD is her gift, her superpower! It allows her to make connections and linkages that others may not, and to be able to hyper-focus on something to really understand how it works. Daydreaming is an important skill for creativity and innovation!

Since this diagnosis, their team at The Dymond Group of Companies, have been researching neuro-divergency and conceptualizing tools that could help some people in their daily lives to learn to interact with, and enjoy their superpowers, and use them to their advantage!