"Knowledge of what is possible is the beginning of Happiness"

By Lauren

It's most definitely been a while since I've posted an entry and for that I am truly sorry. But what I can do is update you guys on what's been happening since July 8th. For starters today we had workshops with Ms. MacDonald (Soft Skills Trainer) and we discussed Interviewing. Some of the topics under Interviewing that we covered were, asking questions, being prepared for possible questions asked, appearance, and speech etiquette. I found this workshop to be extremely helpful because the career fields that I plan on exploring and expanding in probably require a LOT of interviews and evaluations.

Another workshop that we had today was one about the various banks and accounts available and things like that. Basically money management and a Representative from Bank Of Ann Arbor came in as she does once every week and we discuss exactly that. Today we touched on the benefits each of the 17 branches (or at least the most common) and comparing each one and evaluating which bank we would put our money in and why. I found this workshop to be extremely important especially because we'll be getting our pay checks soon and of course we all want to be wise and money savvy about what happens to it. I'm starting to think about Chase bank, but this course opened my mind to the other banks out there that I had no idea would peak my interest as they did.

The most controversial (in my opinion) workshop we've had so far is with a representative talking to us about CPS (Child Protective Services) and (especially when dealing with kids) different scenarios that could happen while being out on the field, for example which situations should we report which ones can take time to seek out instead of taking immediate action. This whole conversation most definitely opened my eyes to a lot, like it exposed me to situations I would have never thought about or had been prepared for.

The last workshop we had was with our team leader's brother (Jarrett Smith), who talked to us about college and what it takes to get in, applications and what needs to be on there (high school test scores, having a wide range in volunteer work, etc.) and financial aid and how easy it is to get and how helpful it is, and of course tuition costs. This conversation was extremely important to me because wanting to go into these fields (cosmetology, musician, and maybe a tattoo artists :)) I most definitely need to go to college or let's say these fields don't necessarily work out I would def want to be able to fall back on my education and hopefully find a good paying job. This workshop was extremely helpful and I cannot wait for what other things these guys have to teach me. Im eager, ready and willing. New York, UCLA and maybe Xavier here I come! :)