Sam left John Lyon in 1998, rejecting all his UCAS choices as it was not the one he wanted. That certainly seems like he set the tone for his future self and career, never taking no for an answer and continuing to pursue his dreams and ambitions. What a pleasure to have Sam back to School to talk to the Sixth Form students and inspire them to go for what they want and believe in.

We tried a slightly different format for the usual Goldhawk and tasked 2 Upper Sixth pupils, Yusuf Shaikh and Alex Ohanian, with interviewing Sam on the stage infront of their peers. The questions were incredibly thought out, structured and by Sam's own words, "as tough as interview questions he gets from the BBC!". Also contributing to the interview was Dev Patel and Head Boy Vinay Kapoor.

What was most interesting was how Sam juggles all his different roles as a qualified Dentist, owning various practices, chief medical strategy officer for Numan, digital advisory roles for various firms including Freuds and academic advisor to a long list of universities! On top of that, he manages to regularly work out, spend quality time with his children and is currently doing a Masters in Law and LPC part time. Definitely an honor to have been able to host such an impressive OL. If anyone says there is not enough time in the day they need to meet Sam.

After the Goldhawk series Sam stayed for a small lunch with a hanfdul of pupils who were able to ask some really good and detailed questions, one of whom is hoping to get in touch for some possible work experience at one of Sam's dental practices!

Sam shared his experiences including his involvement with the NHS app, working with politicians and the importance of employing good people to be able to trust work to be done effectively and efficiently. He provided some great advice relevant to any field about building good relationships through communication, trust and enabling oneself to grow a network. Clearly he also puts importance on retaining curiosity and learning new skills, hence the impressive educational history! He has been able to utilise all his post graduate diplomas and Masters' to push himself forward in new roles. He also advised current students with interview tips on making yourself stand out from the others and really showing commitment to their qualification choice.

If you would like to come back to John Lyon and share your experience with current students, please get in touch by email: khadija.ansari@johnlyon.org.