TFiM Prepares for the Future
by Claire Brandes
Students from The Future is Mine Club recently traveled to Pittsburgh for a field trip on Thursday and Friday (April 11-12) They are Kaelyn Blakley, Claire Brandes, Aliya Graham, Kayla Hellon, Haliegh Lee, Angelia McCormick , Gaige Mclaren, Madison Mellott, and Alan Petrangeli.
Every year for the last nineteen years, the Future is Mine has held a conference at the Marriott City Center in Pittsburgh. This year it was April 10th and 11th. On Thursday, we were able to be inspired by various major businesses as we networked throughout the day Duquesne Light Company, Allegheny General Hospital, Google, and The Allegheny Courthouse were among the supporting organizations.
Some of our students chose to attend the workshops hosted by Duquesne Light Company. One of the main lesson they taught us was that their company is way more than just an electric company. They have many other offices and departments inside the company like the Customer Service Department, the Office of Finances, Human Resources, Office of Chief Information Services and more. There are more than 1,500 employees that work in their five different locations. It was very interesting to see the different jobs they have available for so many people from a variety of talents and interests.
After lunch at our job sights, the entire group went to Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall. The first activity involved working through a series of mock interviews that included tips on how to dress, how to sit, and more. With two “interviewers,” each student had the opportunity to practice an interview for whatever job they wanted. This was helpful to me because I know that the more practice I get, the less nervous I will be when it’s my turn to go through the process.
After the interviews were over we toured the rest of the building. I accepted the challenge to go on a scavenger hunt; it was very fun to look for all the different relics in the building. One half of the building deals with the Civil War and the other half was World War II (my favorite parts of history).
When we were done there we went to the hotel and had a nice dinner. In the evening we have a dance that everyone in TFiM attends; it was filled with singing and dancing and closed out the night.
Friday was all about breakout sessions. Each was run by a different school and were held at the hotel. The topic: How to prepare for the future. Each person went to three assigned sessions.Our final task was to enjoy a final lunch and board the buses for the return trip. This parting was a bit of a sweet sorrow because we learned so many valuable lessons we’ll take with us throughout life.
I encourage every student to become a part of The future is Mine at least once before you graduate. Not only has it prepared me for my future; it is also a lot of fun, too!
The future is mine is an organization run through the consortium. Its goal is to help prepare students for their future and to teach them that the future is truly theirs.
Their mission statement is “We work to inspire and support students and educators, to connect schools with their communities, and to help kids imagine, plan and prepare for successful futures.” Their vision statement is as follows: “The Consortium envisions the day when all kids in our region start school ready to learn and graduate with the skills for lifelong learning, careers and citizenship.” Every year, LCCTC advisors, Mrs. Cepro and Mrs. Heasley, work hard to make sure these mission and vision statements happen in the lives of their students!
