DESCRIPTION
Sophomore inspire week gives tenth graders the chance to go in depth on college, careers, and our skills. We began with a series of tests that gave us a general idea of what strengths we had and which of our top skills apply to certain careers. That was followed by choosing a sophomore inspire week that we felt most applied to our interests and skills in a career. For me, I am strong in public speaking and collaboration, so I wanted to choose an inspire week that would allow me to have a lot of interaction and give me opportunities to lead. I decided that the best one for me to do was design a new playground for the Juniper School. The Juniper School is a charter- elementary school, similar to my school, who does not get a lot of government funding. They recently received a grant for a new location and needed help designing and planning for their new outdoor area. Based on a zero dollar budget, my group looked at the location and dimensions of the space, interviewed students, teachers, and parents to see what they would like in the space and their concerns for it as well. We were exposed to a professional environment and a variety of careers and learned what we might be interested in going into college.
PICTURES
PRESENTATION
REFLECTION
Big Takeaways
I think that one of my biggest struggles in life is that I focus too much on the future and get my mind set on things easily. Especially when it comes to the topic of careers and college. I have always been set on which college I want to go to and what my job will look like. Through this process, I realized that I have many different abilities that would allow me to choose from a variety of careers. As I began interviewing parents, teachers, and students and developing ideas, I realized that maybe I don't have to choose one career. At least not yet. Because of this process, I decided to keep my option open as I go on the path to a career.
Connections Between School and Work
Because I go to a project based school, I am constantly expanding on my collaboration, public speaking, and leadership skills. For projects, it requires me to come up with creative ideas based on time and the subject. There has to be a balance between realistic ideas and creative ideas. Going into this inspire week, I found that I used every single one of these skills every day. I was able to collaborate with my group and communicate with them in a professional environment. I felt that through the process, I became a stronger leader and was able to apply my ability to be creative. Going back in to school, I will continue to use these skills.
Time Management
Time management was the most important part of my inspire week due to the time we were given. In the span of three days, my entire group had interviewed students, teachers, and parents, created blueprints for three large areas (to scale) and an entire budget list with two phases of each area. I never found that time management was difficult because we interacted very well with one another and always had a plan for what we needed to execute. Even in times where we had hours of work time, we were extremely efficient and even had time to take small breaks. I never found that there was a point in which I was stressed during the time in which we were designing and brainstorming.
Connections to YouScience
For my YouScience aptitude test, I scored highest in artistic ability and social skills. This was also the main two skills that I had used in my sophomore inspire week. Each individual in my group had a main set of skills that they contributed to the process. This is why we were able to collaborate well. I have never been in a job where I have been able to use my artistic abilities, but in my inspire week, I was constantly creating sketches and blueprints for the final presentation. I already have experience in public speaking and customer service, but in this environment it was more professional. Not only did I use my social skills to communicate with my group, I also used them in order to discuss and interview with everyone involved.
Advice for Future Students
For future sophomores, I highly suggest choosing a sophomore inspire week based on their future interests and their skills. I also suggest that they choose one based on their areas that they need to improve on. This is a chance to explore what you want to do in the future, and it's important to be exposed to these types of environments. What I see a lot in some of my peers is that they lean towards the options that their friends are doing or options that just seem to be the most entertaining. It is important that they are somewhat interested in what they choose so that they can be engaged, but it is also important to gain the right type of experience for internships, applying for colleges, and choosing a career pathway. It is never too early to begin a path towards a successful future.
I think that one of my biggest struggles in life is that I focus too much on the future and get my mind set on things easily. Especially when it comes to the topic of careers and college. I have always been set on which college I want to go to and what my job will look like. Through this process, I realized that I have many different abilities that would allow me to choose from a variety of careers. As I began interviewing parents, teachers, and students and developing ideas, I realized that maybe I don't have to choose one career. At least not yet. Because of this process, I decided to keep my option open as I go on the path to a career.
Connections Between School and Work
Because I go to a project based school, I am constantly expanding on my collaboration, public speaking, and leadership skills. For projects, it requires me to come up with creative ideas based on time and the subject. There has to be a balance between realistic ideas and creative ideas. Going into this inspire week, I found that I used every single one of these skills every day. I was able to collaborate with my group and communicate with them in a professional environment. I felt that through the process, I became a stronger leader and was able to apply my ability to be creative. Going back in to school, I will continue to use these skills.
Time Management
Time management was the most important part of my inspire week due to the time we were given. In the span of three days, my entire group had interviewed students, teachers, and parents, created blueprints for three large areas (to scale) and an entire budget list with two phases of each area. I never found that time management was difficult because we interacted very well with one another and always had a plan for what we needed to execute. Even in times where we had hours of work time, we were extremely efficient and even had time to take small breaks. I never found that there was a point in which I was stressed during the time in which we were designing and brainstorming.
Connections to YouScience
For my YouScience aptitude test, I scored highest in artistic ability and social skills. This was also the main two skills that I had used in my sophomore inspire week. Each individual in my group had a main set of skills that they contributed to the process. This is why we were able to collaborate well. I have never been in a job where I have been able to use my artistic abilities, but in my inspire week, I was constantly creating sketches and blueprints for the final presentation. I already have experience in public speaking and customer service, but in this environment it was more professional. Not only did I use my social skills to communicate with my group, I also used them in order to discuss and interview with everyone involved.
Advice for Future Students
For future sophomores, I highly suggest choosing a sophomore inspire week based on their future interests and their skills. I also suggest that they choose one based on their areas that they need to improve on. This is a chance to explore what you want to do in the future, and it's important to be exposed to these types of environments. What I see a lot in some of my peers is that they lean towards the options that their friends are doing or options that just seem to be the most entertaining. It is important that they are somewhat interested in what they choose so that they can be engaged, but it is also important to gain the right type of experience for internships, applying for colleges, and choosing a career pathway. It is never too early to begin a path towards a successful future.