7th Grade Again

On Friday, I had a chance to participate as an American Leadership Forum Senior Fellow and Comerica Bank volunteer for a unique program.  Members of the business community and other volunteers spent the morning with 80 seventh graders from 20 Houston area middle schools.  These bright young students had the chance to hear about various careers from 40 folks working in various industries.  Each student had the chance to hear 6 different business representatives talk about their jobs and industry for 8 minutes, then were given 7 minutes to ask questions.

The objective was to expose these students to various career paths prior to their 8th grade deadline to choose a high school curriculum.   Each school's 4 students rotated to different tables so each school was potentially exposed to 24 of the 40 business representatives participating.  And one of the expectations of attending was for students to share the information learned with their classmates who weren't a part of the group.

Anticipating being with the students made me think about things I wish I'd known as a seventh grader:

• everyone you meet is a potential friend for life - learn not only about your friends, but your teachers
• the wide array of career options available and what it would be like to work in various fields
• continuous learning is part of constructing a successful life
• how critical it is to work effectively in teams throughout life
• to try more unfamiliar things rather than sticking with the comfortable known things at which I was capable 
• that track could launch a life-long fitness journey
• that listening is one of the most important communication skills
• to take every reasonable opportunity to practice public speaking
• how important it is to be able to write clearly and succinctly
• that regardless of how busy life was, there would never be a time with fewer responsibilities

What do you wish you'd known as a 7th grader, high school or college graduate, or as you began a new relationship or career?