September 15, 2016: Field Trip – BIF 12
Another year. Another trip to BIF. Another opportunity to
Today’s Class and Homework: September 9, 2016
Today’s class opened the 2016-2017 Hope Life Skills program. The message to students was hopefully clear: the Hope Life Skills
mission is to introduce and develop critical life skills for students to maximize their abundant potential for their life time success.
“After 13 years of teaching at Hope High, the students have repeatedly proven their intelligence, resilience, respect, curiosity, creativity and empathy. To maximize this obvious and impressive student talent, the Hope Life Skills program focuses on introducing and developing other skills, ‘life skills’, sometimes called ‘soft skills’. From networking and brand development to collaboration and critical thinking, these are the skills the world’s top companies, from Google to CVS Health, are demanding from their 21st century employees” I said in today’s class. “This is what we will focus on”.
On Thursday, September 15th, several of this year’s Life Skills students will attend
the all day BIF 11 Forum at the Trinity Theatre in Providence.
Successful people from all over the world share their personal stories of success. Stories reveal challenges pushing out of their comfort zones, being curious, overcoming challenges, often adversity, and finding trusting mentors on their journey to be successful. All within 15 minutes. On the Trinity stage, in front of hundreds of listeners. The Hope Life Skills student objective for the forum is straightforward – start building a network of successful, ethical, interesting people. In order to do this, students will need to exhibit their positive personal brand with good communication skills like respectful, attentive body language, listening and observing, eye contact, a firm handshake, ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, a genuine smile, and questions, all followed by a respectful request for a business card. Admission, breakfast and lunch, and the opportunity to meet and speak with interesting people will be available, free of charge. It will be a fun and interesting day. Students interested in going to BIF need to email their request to me at scronin@signatureprinters.com
no later than Sunday, September, 11:59pm.
BIF 10. One of the Forum’s storytellers on stage at Trinity. This storyteller was sharing his story about his recent brain operation and showing the video he asked doctors to take when doctors opened his skull to remove a malignant tumor.
Hope Life Skills students Gisabel Salcedo (left) and Fernando Perez (right) share conversation after lunch with one of the BIF story tellers. This BIF storyteller shared her story about becoming a professional singer/songwriter.
Homework –
- Read pages 1 through 28 in the book entitled “The Development of the American Brand in the Twentieth Century” posted on the Hope Life Skills web site (www.hopelifeskills.com)
- Send me 1 (one) question about this reading. Please know that there is no ‘best’ or ‘perfect’ question I’m looking for. If you are curious about something you read or there is something you want to know related to the reading, or something you thought about as you read these pages, this, then, is the ‘best’ question I am looking for.
- send to me your question, electronically, to scronin@signatureprinters.com before Monday, September 13, 11:59pm.
Hope Life Skills Summer Internships
The summer of 2016. Another year of internship opportunities
for Hope Life Skills students. From the corporate offices of one of the America’s largest and most successful companies to the friendly confines of a community bookstore, 5 Hope Life Skills students were learning 21st century skills, expanding their networks of successful professionals and earning money in the process.
Hope Life Skills Annual Networking Field Trip: May 24th, 2016.
Tuesday evening, May 24th, within the friendly confines of a fully catered, field level corporate suite at McCoy Stadium during a Pawtucket Red Sox game, proved once again a
perfect venue for showcasing the amazing talent, spirit and professionalism of Hope High School’s Life Skills students to so many successful businessmen and women. For the seventh consecutive year,
the Pawtucket Red Sox have hosted the Life Skills class annual networking event. From an impressive first pitch of the game by Valentina Gomez-Rincon, the announcement of CVS Health corporate paid summer internships for Juan Corona, Jose Orellana and Valentina as well as Travis Barbour and Valentina’s representation of Hope High School at the prestigious National Youth Leadership Forum this July in Washington, D.C. to the many additions of successful people to the Life Skills students’ personal networks, the night proved to be a multi-hit victory for all. Moreover, the delicious food was complemented by a come from behind win for the home team. The
Hope High brand continues to get stronger and more valuable.
The photos below tell the rest of the story. Enjoy and be proud.
Within the comfortable and friendly environment of a Pawtucket Red Sox corporate suite with an array of delicious food mixed with empowering and inspirational conversation, networking among Hope Life Skills students and many successful career minded businessmen and women brought valuable additions to everyone’s network.
Today’s Class: May 20, 2016
Marta Aparicio was today’s guest. Marta is a Hope High School Life Skills graduate and the class valedictorian of Hope High’s graduating class of 2010, a Georgetown University double major graduate (Political Science and Sociology) in 2014, presently a Director of Retail Operations at the Follet Corporation and an Adjunct Professor Miami Dade Community College, Miami, Florida. Our Life Skills class host today welcoming Marta back to the Hope Life Skills class was Valentina Gomez-Rincon.
Valentina Gomez-Rincon (left) welcomes Marta Aparicio to Hope Life Skills and prepares Marta’s introduction to the rest of the Life Skills class.
Valentina introduces Marta to the Hope Life Skills class today. Well done, as usual, by Valentina.
Marta begins to share her inspirational and empowering story with today’s Life Skills students.
Marta began her story today from her birth in Guatemala to meeting her parents for the first time in the United States at 12 years old. “It didn’t work out as I had hoped. By the time I was in Mr Cronin’s Life Skills class,
I was living on my own at 16 years old,
working 30 hours a week at a couple of jobs to pay for rent and my health insurance as well as studying to do well academically at Hope.”
Today’s Class: May 13, 2016
Juan Corona (right) welcomes Neil Amper to Hope High School today.
Today’s guest was Neil Amper, Vice President of Capstone Properties, a commercial real estate company. The Life Skills class host welcoming Neil Amper to Hope High School and introducing him to the Life Skills class was Juan Corona.
- Juan introduces Neil to his classmates at the beginning of today’s Life Skills class.
Chanda Nuth welcomes Neil to the Life Skills class after Juan’s introduction of Neil.
“My family was very rich and I was very rich too.
Yachts. Airplanes. Vacations to wonderful places. Beautiful homes. My parents, sisters and me shared this privilege of wealth. By the time I was 23 years old, I was worth $10,000,000 (million), managing part of our family international scrap metal company with hundreds of people reporting to me. Then,
seemingly in an instant, it was all gone. I had no money and no job.
Today’s Homework: May 6, 2016
1. As Enio shared his story with us today and Maria shared her story with the bookstore supervisor during her recent job interview and Ayobami, Travis, Valentina, Jose, Juan and Fatima will soon share their story during their interviews for a paid summer internship at CVS Health corporate headquarters, the rest of us will often share our personal stories when applying for jobs, requesting a date with someone of interest, or representing a company we work for or own.
They way you tell your story will often affect the outcome of your job interview or asking for the prom date. The better you tell your story, the greater your chances will be of getting the job, the internship and date. There is a best way for telling your story. READ PAGES 1 THROUGH 24 in the textbook “Telling Your Story” on the life skills web site to learn about best practices for telling your story. After reading these pages, answer the following questions –
- what, in your opinion, is the most important thing to do when telling your story?
- upon the completion of your story, what does this author advise you to do?
- for each person telling their personal story during a college, job or intern interview, what is the most important part of the telling of their story?
- send me your answers electronically be Wednesday, May 11th, 12am.
Today’s Class: May 6, 2016
Today’s guest was
Enio Pinto, managing partner of The International Entrepreneurship Center
(IEC), in Newton, Massachusetts. Accompanying Enio was Chad Huemme, another partner at the IEC and a professor of Global Studies at Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts and Tino Chow, entrepreneur, Singapore native, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) graduate and marketing consultant. Today’s Hope Life Skills host was Maria Dasilva who welcomed Enio and Chad to Hope High School and introduced them to her Life Skills class.
Maria Dasilva gives her business card to Enio Pinto after giving Chad Huemme her card after welcoming both men to Hope High School before today’s Life Skills class.
Maria introduces Enio and Chad to her classmates at the opening of today’s Life Skills class.
Valentina Gomez-Rincon and Ruben Blanco welcome Chad Huemme to class as Travis Barbour welcomes Enio Pinto (top of photo) following Maria’s introduction at the start of today’s Life Skills class.
Enio begins his story of success as an international entrepreneur and emigre from Brazil.
Enio told the class he was born and educated in Brazil. As a young adult, he decided to look for a job in America. “When I was looking for a job in America while living in my native country of Brazil, I went on Monster.com and wrote the word ‘Portuguese’. That’s was it! Not ‘business’ or ‘marketing’ or ‘sales’ or ‘teaching’ job; just ‘Portuguese’. I believed the unique value I could bring a company was my ‘Portuguese’ language and appreciation of the Portuguese culture. Babson College soon offered me a job” Enio said. “I believe when you’re
Today’s Homework: April 29, 2016
Hope Life Skills alum Jason Roias speaks with Vince Burks, Senior Assistant Vice President and Communications Director at Amica Insurance, as other students network with other guests. Other guests and students watch the Pawtucket Red Sox game in the field seats outside the suite.
1. Students wishing to go to the Hope Life Skills annual networking event at McCoy Stadium in a fully catered corporate suite during a Pawtucket Red Sox game on Tuesday, May 24th, from 6pm to 9pm:
- Ayobami Bankole
- Ruben Blanco
- Maria Dasilva
- Valentina Gomez-Rincon
- Manny Rivas
- Chanda Nuth
- Fatima Lawal
- Juan Corona
- Fernando Perez
- Gisabel Salcedo
- Jose Orellana
2. Students wishing to apply for one of 2, paid summer internships at CVS Health this summer:
- Valentina Gomez-Rincon
- Ayobami Bankole
- Jose Orellana
- Juan Corona
- Fatima Lawal
Fernando Perez was a paid computer programming intern during the summer of 2015 at CVS Health in the corporate office in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Fernando appears in this photo with one of his CVS Health mentors, Ashish Singh, CVS Health IS Lead Engineer.
3. Please explain, in a well written statement, something you heard or observed during our visit to Amica Insurance last Thursday that made you think about yourself and/or your future.
Today’s Class: April 29, 2016
Today’s Life Skills host was Jose Orellana.
Jose welcomed the artist, Aristides Membreno, to Hope High School
and, soon after, introduced Aristides to the Life Skills class.
Jose Orellana (right) introduces himself to Aristides Membreno and welcomes him to the Hope High School Life Skills class before the start of class.
A moment of levity as Jose introduces Aristides to his Life Skills classmates.
“He is a graphic artist but refers to himself as a ‘designer’ designing toys at Hasbro and sneakers and shoes at Converse.
His name is Aristides Membreno but
I’ve been told to call him ‘Arrow‘.
Please welcome Arrow to our class.” And so went Jose’s eloquent introduction of the designer, Aristides “Arrow” Membreno, to the Hope Life Skills class.