Central's Career Day
- Apr 29, 2016
- 2 min read
It’s a little overdue but I wanted to share my experience. Last month I was asked to be a part of Central Elementary career day. It is so much easier to write my thoughts than verbally express them. With that said, I had a bit of nervousness dwell up approaching this day even if it was speaking in front of fourth and fifth graders.
The morning started by being directed to a meeting room in the front office where all of the participants gathered for bagels. This group looked pretty intimidating at first site. There was a fire fighter and another business woman that had props. I felt a little unprepared. I did have a copy of my book but that was about it. Hearing some of the conversations in the room, one of the participants was a long time educator and I later found out he was also an international basketball player. All seemed to have some pretty interesting careers. I was feeling like my small accomplishments would pale in comparisons.
I have the hardest problem with public speaking. I was a ball of nerves as I sat waiting to be wheeled off to my pending doom.
The staff had a group of fifth grade student ambassadors to greet us and be our chaperones to our speaking locations. These students were well behaved and very well mannered. Kudos goes out to the staff and parents. It definitely takes a village to raise our children. I was glad to see that old thought process was still in action.
Shortly thereafter I was directed to my home base for my speeches, the computer lab. I would be presenting four times to a group of 16-17 students for maximum time of 15 minutes. Before the students started to pile in, I was able to talk with the teacher and the room assistant. Surprisingly they were just as interested in my professions as the students. I was able to make some great contacts and possible future clients. There even were a few other staff members that came in to talk to me due to their interest in being an author and traveling.
During my talk, I tried to touch on everything I do from working a full time job in corporate America, authoring my book and finally travel agent. The students and the staff were particularly interested in travel. I got some great questions about my book also. I really wanted to encourage them to start writing now. It was really rewarding for me to see the interest in my accomplishments. I was surprised at some of the staff’s interest in what I had to share. I was able to share how I got started and provide information on where others can start their projects. I think if I’m asked again, I can bring a gift for the students to encourage them, like a notebook to write their ideas in.
Public speaking can be extremely nerve wrecking for me but the impact is amazing to witness. I encourage all of you to reach out to others in some way to be an impact.
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