Memories...

Highlights of the 2010-2011 from some of our Liaison staff!

The main part of our job as Liaison Officers is to deliver presentations in schools so that students are aware of the opportunities available in skilled trades and technologies.  We are often asked “doesn’t it get repetitive, doing the same presentation over and over?”  The short answer: yes and no.  The other programs and events we plan and assist with break up the school year.  And more often than not, the schools and the kids are game changers.  To celebrate the end of the school year, and the beginning of summer, we've put together a few examples.

Jessica Murphy, Thunder Bay:

It was the last day of a week long road trip that saw me going to places that few roads travelled beyond. My first stop of the last day brought me to Hudson, Ontario and a one-hallway school with only about 4 rooms in it. I arrived a bit early, so the teacher asked if I’d like to come with her to the breakfast room.  I followed her down to the breakfast room – which was exactly that....a room where all of the students from the entire school sat and ate breakfast together.  There were only about 20 students in the entire school and they all sat at 4 different tables eating breakfast together.  One table had the K- grade 2 students, then there were the grade 3 & 4 students, the 5 & 6 students and finally the table of grades 7 & 8 students.  When they were all finished they were told to bring their dishes to the back sink which they all did – even the little wee students, the “big kids” helped them reach to get their dishes in the sink.  Once everyone was back in their seats, a teacher turned around, hit Play on the tape player and on came Oh Canada. When it was time to go to their classroom, the youngest students all held hands and made their way their room. Eventually the grades 7 & 8 students made it back to their room at which point I got to present to four fantastic students.

All the students had their eye out for the others and there was such a feeling of admiration and respect among all of the students.  As I left the school, my eyes watered a little bit, as it was just announced in March that this school would be closing at the end of this school year.  I can’t help but feel as though these kids are forever changed with the experiences they had at Hudson School, and I can definitely say that I am forever changed and that Hudson School has definitely left a lasting impact that I will always carry with me.  Thanks for the memories Hudson!

Mauricio Ospina, Sudbury:

Something that surprised me from my first Cardboard Boat Race was that the biggest smiles of the day came when the boats sank!  That surprised me because, after all, when the boat sinks is when you’re done the competition... you’re out!  So when I saw the huge smiles I was blown away and noticed how much fun this event really is for all the participants.  They work hard on their boats, want to win the race and paddle as hard as they can, want to have the most weight for 90 seconds, but at the end of the day they HAVE FUN and laugh when the boat sinks!  Wonderful to see!

Shannon Skinner, Toronto:

In early June, I was scheduled for a day of presentations at a high school.  Part of the way through one of my afternoon presentations, the fire alarm went off in the building!  Apparently, the system will react to very high temperatures – whether or not there is smoke or fire.  This one definitely wins an award for being one of the stranger mishaps that has occurred during one of my presentations.  Just goes to show, our in-school presentation is too hot to handle!

April Albano, Kitchener:

I am new and most of the moments thus far have been memorable.  One of the moments that stands out to me was at the Closing Ceremony for the Ontario Technological Skills Competition.  I was carrying the various medals, scholarship notices and awards to the winners from backstage.  I went on stage to hand out the School Board Award (given to the Board that achieves the highest combined score during the OTSC).   The gentleman I gave it to started tearing up and hoisted the trophy in the air.  I learned later that this man was the main contact for his school board - the Halton District School Board - and after many years of competing, his board had finally won the big award.  He was so thrilled!  It opened my eyes to the dedication of the individuals that are involved with Skills Canada-Ontario, and how important our programs are to so many schools, school boards and individuals across Ontario. 

Devon Turcotte, Woodbridge:

Over the years, I have planned and supported a number of “Skills Work! for Women” Networking Dinners.  But this year,  I had the challenge of establishing this amazing event in brand new territory – Durham region.  After piles of emails and hours of phone calls, and the assistance of countless teachers and school board connections, I finally managed to scrape together 24 students to attend the dinner.  As these girls went through the evening, I could almost see their eyes opening more and more and more.  One student approached me at the end of the evening and said “this is amazing!  I really think I could do these jobs!”  And then in one of my last presentations of the year, a student approached me and told me she had attended the dinner.  She is interested in becoming an auto service technician, and had been for a long time, but she was really amazed to find out how many other doors would open for her once she obtained her license.  What a great treat!  I was thrilled to hear that she was even more inspired to continue on her path, and connected her with another woman who had been a mentor in past, but wasn’t able to attend this particular dinner.

Scott Verhoeve, Kitchener:

In the weeks that I have been a Liaison Officer, the date that stands out to me is May 9. It was a seminal day for me:  I formally hit the road for a week of training with my fellow new cohort, April, in the shadow of a more experienced Liaison Officer, Brieanna Holm.  The Ontario Technological Skills Competition had left me feeling more a part of the staff team, and we headed to present in my home town and at the school where I had just completed several months of practice teaching as a student teacher.   Although I wasn’t presenting that morning – I had the good fortune of watching Brie do her job – I knew many students in the audience after teaching in several grade 10 classes over the last two semesters. And the combination of listening to the presentation and knowing many of the students really crystallized for me the importance of our role and the fact that these students are real people with huge potential and big decisions ahead of them. Although I am still working at doing this well, that day motivates me to try to connect with my audience as though they are all students that I know personally.