Job Coaching

Location: Open Door Shelter

Date: Monday, October 26, 2015; 6:45-8:30 pm

I came early and was waiting in the lobby when the volunteers started arriving, including some familiar ones like Susan and Melissa.  Claire came soon and I told her that Wilson was coming over since she had many cancellations.  She asked how he knew and I said never mind.  I learned that the last session, which they had asked me to lead and I couldn’t, had eventually been cancelled since no one stepped up to lead.  Wilson arrived and Claire mentioned that she had forgotten to get nametags and treats and Wilson had a solution for both  - temporary nametags made with stock paper and scotch tape and some treats left over from his movie night with Seniors.  As he went to get the treats from his car, I told the others that they would be “sugar free”, and sure enough they were.

At 7 pm we went upstairs and I saw that almost everyone was new.  We had about 7 youth including a girl who looked really young.  We started by assembling and introducing ourselves.  Most were students and one said that he was a model.  When asked for what, he said “Underwear”.  “Male or Female”, I inquired!  The young girl said that she was 13 and in 8^th grade.  She said she was a bit young for this, and in all my years of coming here, that was certainly the truth.  When my turn came for introductions, I said that I did innovation for the “Power Industry”. 

Now where would I time travel?

For the “ice breaker”, Claire gave us some questions to ask each other.  The idea was to get around and talk to as many people as possible.  My question was, “What do you like to do in your spare time”.  Some of the responses that I got included things like “Sleep”, “Read”, “Play Basketball” etc.  One of the questions that I got from a youth was, “If you could go to any time in past, present or future when would it be”.  Well, as much as I love “Back To The Future”, I don’t care too much for past, so I said that I may want to know what’s going on with me 5 years in the future.  Another question was, “What is the first thing that you would do if you won the lottery?”  I said to the girl who asked me that it depends on how much it was - $2, $200 or $2 million.  She said how about a million.  I said that I would get a car.  It doesn’t even have to be fancy.  Just get a car.  Someone else asked me, “What’s your favorite quality about yourself?”  I said that it had to be my passion for things.

The energy was definitely up and Claire got us back together.  I said that we should share some good stories and the youth who has asked me the “time travel” question said that I had given the best response.  We then got paired up and I was with this young man.  My task was to prepare him for an interview, including things like “networking” and “professionalism”.  He told me that he had just received a college scholarship to ‘TCU’ to play basketball.  Wow.  Talk about a life changer.  But what was even more impressive was that his main focus was on education and he wanted to become an “Animator”.  I asked him some questions on that and learned that he has created an entire "comic book universe" with "superheroes" and has been working on it since childhood.  He said that basketball scholarship was good, but he was really looking forward to a career after that.  I said that maybe he should aim for the ‘NBA’, make his millions and then retire at 30 to do as he pleased.  We talked about his upcoming college experience – you will have no time for girls I said – and how he should stick with people who will be good influences.  Then, since he was after all a “comic book” fan, we had a discussion on “Marvel vs DC” and “Superman vs Batman”; after which our time for this part of the evening was up.

Before we had started, Claire had given each of us a question and I had picked “Tell me about a time when he had to deal with a conflict” – since no one wanted it.  The idea was for all of the youth to come meet with each of us and answer our questions.  We were then to rank them on a scale of "1-5" and the top scorer would get a treat.  I asked my question to the young man and he mentioned how as a “Captain” of his basketball team, he had to mediate between his teammate, who was on a receiving end of a “cheap shot”, and an opposing player whose team was losing.  I said that all you need to do is point at the scoreboard and the other team would get the message. 

Two others mentioned how they had mediated between their siblings and a couple of others mentioned how they had to talk to members of their class project team who were not pulling their weight.  The model guy mentioned how one of his coworkers wasn’t doing their job and how he had to bring their supervisor in the picture.  Finally, I was paired with the 13 year old girl and I was looking forward to her response.  I was surprised to learn that she was a “counselor” with little kids and often has to mediate between them.  I also learnt that she wanted to become a “Veterinarian”, and for a 13 year old, she had a terrific head on her shoulders.  I gave her the highest grade and though she did not win, I could see that everyone else had been impressed with her as well.  After the treats had been given away, it was time to leave.  I chatted with some of the volunteers before hitching a ride with Wilson.  I couldn’t help but think about the 13 year old girl.  What a personality and I wish someone gives her the opportunities that she needs.  It would be colossal crime otherwise.