Today’s guest was Neil Amper, Vice-President at Capstone Properties,

a commercial real estate company.   Commercial real estate companies buy, sell and lease (rent) factory buildings, apartment complexes, and other company buildings.

There was no class host today.  Rather, there was a test

to start the class.  Neil arrived early to Hope High School and went directly to our Life Skills classroom.  After Neil chose a desk to sit, I simply observed how Life Skills students would react to a guest already seated in the classroom.  The result of today’s test was impressive.  Almost every student, upon entering the classroom, approached Neil, extended a handshake and a “welcome to Hope High School”.

When Ingris Izaguirre Maradiaga (back to the camera) entered the classroom and saw today’s guest, Neil Amper, sitting in one of the classroom chairs, she immediately approached Neil to welcome him to Hope Life Skills. By looking at Neil’s face, one can easily determine Ingris’ welcome was effective. Good job, Ingris! You represented us well today.

Neil’s story was both astonishing and inspirational.

“I grew up in a very privileged family.

My father started what eventually became a $500,000,000 (million) scrap metal company in Pennsylvania.  We lived in a huge house with live-in servants.  My father owned his own plane.  We never wanted for anything.  After I graduated from college, I managed one of my father’s facilities in Rhode Island.  I was making a lot of money. 

At the age of 28, I was worth $10,000,000 (million).  

1.  Write your job resume.  Don’t worry about how good it is.  When I lost my job last year, I had to write a resume.  I sent it to Nan for her review.  It took three or four attempts before I created a resume that Nan believed properly presented my skills, talents and experience that would illustrate the value I could bring to a new company.   Writing a good resume is a process;  it takes time.  And, it’s worth the effort.  You will all eventually need a resume to present when you apply for an internship, job, after school organization and even for a work study job at a college.    Please print your resume and hand it to me at our next class.    I look forward to reading your resume and giving you the constructive criticism to create the resume that will get you the job or internship you want.

To remind you of the format Nan described today, here is my resume as a reference.

Stephen Cronin                                                                                                                                   401-374-7603

15 Andrew Court                                                                                                               stevecronin1949@gmail.com

Swansea, Massachusetts 02777

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Executive Summary

Today’s guest was Nan Quinlan,

consultant and the former Training and Development Manager at TACO Inc, a multi-million dollar, international company in Cranston, Rhode Island.  Nan is an expert on resume writing and job interviewing skills.   Nan visits the Hope Life Skills class multiple times each year.   Nan previously visited our class on December 9, 2o16 for a presentation on job interviewing skills and techniques.

There was no class host today

since Nan is a previous Hope Life Skills guest.  What was

refreshing to observe was the number of students who greeted Nan, unprompted, as they entered the classroom.

Yael Torres welcomes Nan back to the Hope Life Skills class prior to the beginning of today’s class.

Today’s Hope Life Skills class guest was Derek Viveiros, the Athletic Director at  Bristol Community College.

The Life Skills class host was Yael Torres.

Yael Torres (left) welcomes Derek Viveiros to Hope High School before the start of the Hope Life Skills class

Yael introduces Derek Viveiros to his Hope Life Skills classmates to start the day’s class.

Hope Life Skills students welcome Derek to their class following Yael’s introduction.

Derek begins his story of success

“Becoming successful,

finding a job that we look forward to every day, doesn’t happen quickly or easily”

Today’s guest was

Matthew Lague, an Omni-Channel Fulfillment Planner for the CVS/pharmacy division of CVS Health.

CVS Health is a $150 billion company located in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.  The company is ranked 18th on the Forbes Global 500 list of the top 500 companies in the world.   CVS Health is ranked 7th on the Forbes 500 list of American based companies.

Our host today was Imani Turner.

Imani welcomes Matt Lague to the Hope Life Skills class at Hope High School.

Imani introduces Matt to her Life Skills classmate to open today’s class. Well done, Imani!

Hope Life Skills students welcome Matt to their class with a professional handshake, good eye contact, a genuine smile and an expression of appreciation for his visit to the class following Imani’s introduction.

Matt began today’s class with a check!

Today’s guest was Adam Rojek, an Instructional Designer and Department leader at Lifespan.

Lifespan is a healthcare system.  Started in 1994 by Rhode Island Hospital and The Miriam Hospital, the Lifespan network includes Rhode Island Hospital, The Miriam Hospital, Rhode Island Hospital’s pediatric division, Hasbro Children’s Hospital, Bradley Hospital, Newport Hospital, and Gateway Healthcare.

Our host today was Justin Cordeiro.

Justin Cordeiro (left) welcomes Lifespan’s Instructional Designer Adam Rojek to Hope High School prior to today’s class

Justin introduces Adam to the Life Skills class

Imani Turner welcomes Adam to Hope Life Skills following Justin’s introduction.

Adam began his story with his upbringing in the upstate New York city of Buffalo on the shores of Lake Erie near the Canadian border.

Adam begins his story

“About 60 inches of snow a year“