Over 150 High School students from the Chestermere and Strathmore area will have the opportunity to join local career mentors as they share exciting aspects of their work at a round table forum. World of Choices (WOC) is an interactive leadership and career workshop for young men and women in Southern Alberta. Hosted by Junior Achievement (JA), the event is designed to empower students in grades 10-12.
The 14th Annual WOC event will be held Thursday March, 6 at the Strathmore Civic Centre. This free event runs from 9:30 am -1:30 pm and is open to any student that wishes to go. The goal is to educate and inspire young people by promoting self-confidence and showcase potential career paths, including those of the non-traditional role (example: women in mechanics).
“We will have mentors representing many areas including agriculture, military, trades, medicine, entrepreneurs, RCMP, sciences and many more,” says Wendy Gerbrandt, JA Regional Program Coordinator.
The mentors each student meets with will be decided based on a questionnaire they fill out when registering. This unique opportunity will allow each student to meet five mentors that fall within their specified interests, each of which they will have 20 minutes with to sit and have discussions about their career in a round table forum. The students can ask anything they like of that mentors career and are encouraged to find out information like educational requirements, a typical work day or where they see their career path taking them in the future.
Students can register for the World of Choices Strathmore event by visiting their school councillor or by emailing Wendy Gerbrandt at wgerbrandt@jasouthalberta.org. You can also register online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/world-of-choices-career-workshop-tickets-9908348136.
JA is also recruiting for a variety of volunteer career mentors. “By sharing your work and education experiences you will make an impact on shaping the future of local youth in your community” says Gerbrandt. Anyone can be a career mentor, if you have a passion to share your career story and enthusiasm for empowering other young adults to succeed then JA would like to hear from you. ‘We are also seeking non-traditional career mentors as well so if you have entered a field/career path that is not typically explored or an emerging profession than JA needs you.”
World of Choices is a non-profit event offered to youth at no cost. Financial support from sponsors help to cover the cost to run the event and enable youth to participate. To become a sponsor and build credibility as a leader in the community as well as promote your organizations and help to develop our future leaders please contact Wendy Gerbrandt at wgerbrandt@jasouthalberta.org.
