Torch - Fall 2016

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

20  HAVERGAL COLLEGE