My coworkers and I were lucky enough to get to spend my time with groups of high school students from East and West High who are part of the Junior Achievement program. The students were either juniors or seniors in high school who are getting ready to go to college or enter the workforce. This seemed like the perfect event to volunteer option because it allowed me to help others build skills that would help them learn how to enter the workforce in a positive and constructive environment. I didn't have anything like this workshop when I was younger and I feel like it would have been tremendously helpful! It also provided me with a great platform to share, from my person experience, how important education is, and how much easier it is to get it before you take on full time adulthood. Throughout the various workshops the kids were able to experience what working for our company is like, the different jobs available to them and what type of degrees can help them get which positions. For my workshop I had about an hour with each group to talk about my history with the company, share how not having a degree (yet!) has impacted my career development and also helped the students learn some tips and tricks for preparing for future job interviews. I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to participate in such a helpful program and I truly wish I'd had this experience available to me in high school. This workshop came at a great time for me because I've been struggling to balance work, school and life. Having the chance to work with these students showed me that even though I'm behind in my education goals at least I'm on the right path! I remember sitting at dinner with one of my really good friends a year and a half ago and asking him "Do you think it's silly for me to go back to school at 31?" He smiled and chuckled and said "I'm 40 and still don't know what I want to do with my life so why would it be silly for you to go back to school?" I realized how ridiculous and limiting my question was and made the decision to go back to school. Being a part of this service learning project reaffirmed my choice to follow my instincts to go back to school to get my degree so that I could quit being limited in my career. I want to feel like the sky is the limit, and unfortunately, without a degree there is a very definite limit when you work in corporate America. I also realized how much impact my journey can have on the youth of today and that they really respect open and honest dialog from someone who has been there, made the mistakes they might be thinking of making. Hopefully my cautionary tale helped them to realize how important their choices today are for their futures. |