Volunteer Work…

I spent the morning volunteering with Junior Achievement. I was a little nervous because I have only volunteered in a camp counselor capacity and this was actually teaching a lesson to 30 students in 8th grade. I have to admit that I procrastinated on going to the school because I was second guessing my decision to volunteer but it was actually very rewarding. I will be going to back over the next 5-6 weeks to teach the remaining lessons on decision-making, education, career options, budgeting, credit and financial risk. Today’s lesson was about choices and self-knowledge.

Essentially, self-knowledge is a combination of your skills, interests and values. When you evaluate your own personal skills, interest and values, you are better able to find and choose a career that you will enjoy and find-rewarding. The kids behaved so well and they had some interesting career choices: school counselor, attorney (Smile), dancer, court reporter, actuary, singer and teacher.

It just goes to show you that when you give, you tend to receive much more in return. I had a blast and I am looking forward to meeting with them again next week. Also, as crazy as it seems, it made me feel more confident about getting up and talking in front of people. More practice is always good and sometimes, kids can be one of your toughest audiences.