Happy Canada Day and the Beginning of Summer
Many communities will be celebrating either Canada Day, or a local festival. I trust that you will be able to participate with your community, enjoying the local festivities as these events allow us to stay connected with one another.
I would also like to take a moment to congratulate the recent high school and post-secondary graduates. To complete a course of study is a major accomplishment in life and lays a foundation for your next chapter. As a community, we can support our graduates in the following ways: If you own a business, hire students. Part time and seasonal employment is critical for the development of real-world work experience and the ability to save finances for future study, especially considering the significant expenses they currently face to “launch in life”. Getting work experience early lays a foundation of work ethic, and what brings value to the market.
Provide and encourage balanced volunteer opportunities. Giving our time into events, charities, and community programs provide excellent opportunities to develop leadership and communication, as well as overall life skills. They also provide opportunities for students to grow their contact network, which is critical for future employment. When I look at resumes, or when conducting an interview, I often ask about volunteer experience because this is generally where the passion and heart of a person is truly alive.
Encourage them into leadership and mentorship opportunities. You don’t truly know something until you learn how to teach it. Being put into situations where you’re forced to teach what you have recently learned yourself enables you to better distill the material. I remember when studying music, I started teaching piano during my last year of high school. This not only gave me an income, it also empowered me to apply what I was learning. It allowed me to feel like there was a purpose to it.
There is also indirect learning. I currently have a seasonal employee who is studying to be a mechanic. By using equipment he may be working on in the future, it facilitates him to see why and how parts break. His current work experience gives him an indirect learning opportunity into his field of study. Encourage future study. It is easy to get out of the habit of study. I recently completed a leadership course and a key take away wasn’t just the material on transitional leadership, but on how to effectively read a book!
Engage the student as to what they’re learning, or what they hope to be doing in the future. This grants the student the opportunity to articulate vision and direction for what they hope to do in life. It also provides the opportunity to articulate what they’re currently learning.
I have a 16-year-old daughter who works as a hostess at the Italian Farmhouse, many of you have probably met her. When I ask her how her day went, she is most excited by the positive interactions with customers. Those who have engaged her have taken an interest into her dreams for the future. It energizes her to continue and pursue those passions. So to the graduates of 2022, I congratulate and encourage you to get out and start gathering real world experience, regardless of if it’s within your field of study or not. To those of us who parent, or know a graduate, encourage them to “get out there” and engage the world around them. Our communities and workplaces need their participation, energy, and ideas.
From my family to yours,
Lowell Harder
