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What is the secret to be identified as a young leader? Is it academic achievement; a captivating personality; innate talent; forethought or sheer determination?
Even worse, could it be a fascinating combination of all the above? And more importantly can it be achieved by anyone? The guiding lights for success can be revealed by none other than those who have crossed the paths and have made it to the top of the class.
GulfWeekly's Anasuya Kesavan met up with the recipients of this year's Crown Prince's International Scholarship Programme, selected over a year of rigorous challenges to seek out those answers.
Abdulla Saleh Ali Ebrahim Abdulaal
The three corner stones in Abdulla's success story are - time management, planning and balancing studies, sports, friends and voluntary work. His advice to younger students: "Challenge yourself but don't pressure yourself."
Practising what he preaches, he has always maintained high grades and is a keen footballer while taking part in volleyball as well as track and field sports. He is the treasurer of the Student's Congress and Senior Council at his school, Ibn Khuldoon National School, and has been part of various societies and clubs. He said that he tries his best not to waste any time sitting at home doing nothing.
Abdulla, 18, intends to become an actuary after completing a degree in MORSE - mathematics, operational research, statistics, and economics from the University of Warwick, UK and hopes to bring back all the knowledge and experience he gains whilst in the UK.
Son of Saleh Ali Abdulaal, director of Nader Gas, and Fareeda Ahmad Al Shaikh he lives in A'Ali with his siblings Fatin and Yousif. His elder brother, Nabeel is a banker in London.
Ali Saeed Al Shehab
Confidence, positive attitude, outstanding academic performance and active participation in community service are the key aspects in Ali's personality that helped him receive the scholarship.
He said: "I am a perfectionist which is an important element of my professional work-style. If I have to serve my country well, I have to be a skilful, knowledgeable and experienced professional. I plan to use the scholarship to achieve these objectives." Ali, 17, from Janabiya is a former student of Al Naim Secondary Boys School. He will be studying for a high school post graduate diploma from Choate Rosemary Hall, US. He wants to take a degree in financial engineering and then continue his studies in economics and financial management. His father, Saeed Al Shehab, is a mechanical engineer and his mother, Zahra Al Jufair, is a vice principal in an elementary school. His siblings are Mohammed, Ghadeer and Maryam.
Aysha Ali Hasan Alkhaja
Aspiring neurosurgeon, 17-year-old Aysha, from Janabiya, believes her attitude and professionalism helped her become one of the 10 CPISP scholars this year.
In September she will begin a new chapter in her life by pursuing A-levels at Oakham School, UK.
Delighted on having made her parents proud, she said: "By getting the best education possible and by becoming an excellent neurosurgeon I want to make a change that will benefit Bahrain's future. The whole point of studying abroad is to come back and make a difference."
A former student of Khawla Girls' School, she advises all aspiring students to never give up on their dreams and to always believe in themselves and their abilities.
She lives in Bahrain with her parents, Ali Hasan Al Khaja and Khulood Abdulrahman Alasoomi, and siblings, Hasan, Hamad, Abdulrahman, and Maryam.
Fatema Sulaiman Mahmood Al Hashemi
This 17-year old teenager from East Riffa, who also won GLOBE's Annual Young Scientists Fair two years in a row, attributes her success to determination, a good grasp of English and an active outgoing personality. She hopes to contribute to Bahrain's development by excelling in her studies.
Fatema will be spending her next two years at the Loomis Chaffee School in the US to pursue a high school post graduate diploma.
Her advice to prospective CPISP scholars: "Enjoy what you do as you can only excel at anything when you have enjoyed it. In addition, develop your English language and participate in extracurricular activities."
Fatema from Isa Town Girls' School volunteered at the Red Crescent Society and Dar Al Manar Elderly Home. She lives with her parents, Sulaiman Mahmood Al Hashemi and Mona Ahmed bint Dineh and sister Amna.
Mahmood Mohamed Abdul Salam
Mahmood's recipe to face the stiff competition for the race to be a CPISP scholar was to offer more than just his academic excellence. A student of Al Hedaya Al Khalifa Boys' School, he was ranked at the top of the unified track class with a GPA of 99.2 and also won Khawla's Cup for Mathematic Excellence. Last year he was chosen to represent Bahrain in a Science Fair held in Egypt.
A footballer and member of the Al Hedaya Youth Association, he said: "I think that my confidence and my ability to plan and work hard were the main reasons for my success." Intending to ultimately graduate as a telecommunications engineer, Mahmood, 17, will be proceeding to the Oundle School, UK, in September to do his A-Levels. He believes that from the very first day abroad he will be an ambassador of his country and his mission is to prove that Bahrainis can also contribute to the modern world. He said: "It's my duty to achieve academic excellence and experience and come back to become a useful member of the society."
Mahmood's father Mohamed Abdul Salam is a businessman, and mother Nada Al Nadhar is an assistant headmistress of a primary school. He lives in Arad with his siblings Nadia, Ahmed, and Amro.
Fatema S Ali Al Gharbi
Fatema is an outgoing personality from Sanabis, who, in her 18-years, has attended a women to women conference in Boston, US, attended the UK Youth Parliament as a member of the technical group responsible for forming the Bahraini Youth Parliament and won the Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for being a distinguished student around the Gulf.
A former student of Khawla Girls' School, she is preparing to go to the Hun School of Princeton, US to pursue a high school post graduate diploma.
Fatema advises the next generation of aspiring students to face obstacles, work hard and never give up. She lives with her parents S Ali Al Gharbi and Fareeda Basheer and siblings Sumana, Sara, and Jawad.
Mohamed Ghazi Ahmed Slaice
Glory is not new to Mohammed Slaice. Last year he was one among only nine explorer students chosen from around the world to commemorate NASA's 50th anniversary in Nevada where he experienced weightlessness for the first time aboard a zero gravity corporation flight.
Mohammed, 17, from Shaikh Abdulaziz Boys' School, believes that the secret of his success is hard work. He said: "Work hard, work hard, work hard! And never take NO for an answer."
An active volunteer with several associations he developed his skills by gaining work experience, participating in competitions, seminars and out of school activities. He enjoys playing soccer and swimming and also plays the guitar. In his spare time he writes Arabic poetry.
Mohammed will leave for the US to pursue his high school post graduate diploma from Tabor Academy. He lives in Manama with his businessman father, Ghazi and mother, Eman, who works in the Ministry of Labour. His sister, Esra, is a medical student in Oman.
Mohsen Ehab Ameeri
Achievements for this 17-year-old include attaining one of the top five positions in GCSE English Literature worldwide; one of the speakers at Hague International Model United Nations and an acceptance to the London School of Economics.
An avid public speaker, occasional writer, cricketer and music-lover, Mohsen believes his academic achievement, focused mentality and strong motivation to work with other able students worldwide helped him get the scholarship.
A student of St Christopher's School he hopes to study law with a view to pursue a career in Corporate Law. He said: "I will advise students to always work as hard as possible, and believe that you can achieve anything. This way, success is deserved and failure truly does become a learning experience."
He lives in Nabih Saleh with his parents, Ehab Ameeri, who works in the financial services industry, and Batool Al-Mosawi, and brother Hussain.
Rawan Mohammed Maki
This ambitious and hardworking 17-year-old from Ibn Khuldoon National School believes that presenting ideas creatively with confidence played a key role in her success as a CPISP scholar.
A budding economist, she hopes to use her scholarship to be a catalyst in Bahrain's growth one day. She chose to study economics at Yale University, US, as it is flexible and can open a range of opportunities in finance houses, market research and consultancy firms.
Rawan's sister, Dana, is also a CPISP scholar. Her father, Dr Mohammed Ali Al Anzoor is a physiotherapist and mother, Elham Hassan, is a senior country partner at PriceWaterhouseCoopers. She lives in Hamad Town with her parents and sister Maryam.
Sarah Mohamed Saleh Mohamed Ameen
Linguist Sarah is fluent in English, Arabic, Korean, and Spanish and is planning to master Japanese and Chinese. She plays the piano, flute and violin and has been in her school's badminton, track and field teams for five consecutive years and received the title of 'Most Talented' at her school's awards day.
From Ibn Khuldoon National School she plans to continue her studies in philosophy, politics and economics with a minor in international relations at University of Pennsylvania. She said: "I believe that through my knowledge of not only economics but also a vast array of languages I will be able to represent my country in a global scale and bridge gaps that previously could not be bridged.
Sarah, 18, lives in A'ali with her parents - father Mohamed and mother Maryam - and siblings Fawaz, Ahmed and Fay.
