So in this year of saying yes more often than I say no, I agreed to participate in this month's Greater Hartford Chapter of Jack & Jill, Inc.'s Black History Month Career Day. Participating meant being one of the Jack & Jill parents staffing a table and talking to the chapter children about my career.
I will admit I was nervous about participating. Where was this nervousness coming from? It came from the fact that I questioned whether the children (who spend a lot of time in schools around educators) would be interested in hearing about my work as a dean. When you know that other career tables are being staffed by a psychiatrist (with mini model brains to giveaway), an engineer (with a cool experiment to show), a cardiologist, and sports broadcaster, you can see where why I was a bit nervous.
What I will say is that my preparation for the career day forced me to be reflective and dig deep into my why and my what. I love my job and my students, so it really came down to sharing what, how, and why I do what I do. So in the end this is what I shared:
What
- Empower and encourage students
- Help students get involved in the school community and pursue their interests
- Ensure that students feel seen, heard, supported, and valued
- Help them develop leadership skills.
- Help them learn to be accountable and responsible
- Help them learn and grow from their missteps
- Help them learn how to ask for help, use the resources, and make the most of their experience
- Be a champion for students
How
- Meet with each of my students at the beginning of the year
- Attend their events (i.e. performances, athletics, presentations, etc.) and cheer them on
- Send birthday cards and kudos email
- Listen and hear them out
- Laugh with them
- Be intentional about character building conversations
- Real talk about life and legacies
- Be willing to have the more difficult, but necessary real world conversations
Why
- To help students navigate the unpredictable waters of high school and get to graduation knowing more about who they are and what kind of impact they want to have in the world.
While I can't really compete with the brain giveaways or engineering experiments, I know that it's educators who helped each of us at those tables get to where we are because they believed in us. I get to pay that forward and celebrate my students. So as a couple of children said after I shared my what, how, and why I do what I do, my job is pretty "cool."
