How long have you been working at Youth Opportunities?
I’ve been working for Youth Opps for 16 years!
At the end of my second term of training back in 2006, my eldest daughter was born. Sophie arrived on Sunday at 4.55am, and with two hours of sleep, I attended my graduation on Monday afternoon. Three months later, Sophie attended her first graduation.
What does the best day at working at Youth Opportunities look like for you?
The ideal day at Youth Opps for me includes graduating ITC participants and giving new trainers and staff an understanding of the tools and skills to facilitate change in young people. It’s particularly rewarding to see the personal growth participants make.
What have you learnt from one of our graduates?
Too many to mention but The Cup Song from Pitch perfect comes to mind. There was a student who was a bit of an expert at it teaching her friend, and they asked me if I would like to learn it. I followed her instruction and could do it in a very clunky way. On the back of this I delivered the four stages of learning, where I was the starting points, the friend was in the learning to make it a habit stage and our expert had it as an ingrained habit. It was a fun session that highlighted a learning experience and what it takes to create a habit.
What do you wish you at 15 knew now after experiencing the YO program?
Understanding my self-image, understanding others, and the way I communicated with myself and others. I wanted to be liked and accepted by people, but it really affected me when it didn’t happen, or I thought it didn’t happen it would bring me down. I think at this age we’re pretty egocentric, and learning about people has made my self-image stronger.
Which of our Personal Leadership tools do you use most in your own life?
Being response-able and of course the Coaching Model. It gives me a point of reference to think about what I want to achieve and how to achieve it. It’s helped me be a better person, dad, partner, co-worker, and Trainer.