Take Our Kids to Work Day broadens career horizons
[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/takeourkidstowork.jpg” caption=”Students started the day with a game of rock-paper-scissors. Photo by Lorraine Redford.”]McMaster hosted 98 Grade 9 students for the annual Take Our Kids to Work Day on Nov. 7.
The day started off with welcome greetings from Jason Cole and Steve Fletcher, both of Human Resources Services, followed by Peter Broadhurst of McMaster's A.L.T.I.T.U.D.E. Group.
Then the students experienced their first icebreaker, a game of rock-paper-scissors. This exercise gave the students an opportunity to experience working in a team and by the end, they were cheering on their new friends in the final round.
It did not take long before the A.L.T.I.T.U.D.E. group of McMaster students took over the reins and got the day revving in full gear.
Says Broadhurst, a fourth-year kinesiology student, “This was an amazing group of students. They participated in the activities with open-mindedness and really had fun.”
The A.L.T.I.T.U.D.E. instructors are dynamic individuals whose specialty is to ensure that everyone in the group participates and gets the most out of the activities that they facilitate.
When the students completed their scheduled activities, they had a chance to experience a taste of the University in pre-selected tours. With four new tours to choose from this year, students could select one of the following activities:
After the tours, the students regrouped for lunch and then enjoyed a career presentation facilitated by Tiffany Steinke, followed by Marvin “The Bug Man” Gunderman with his collection of rare and interesting insects.
For more information about the day's program and scheduled activities, check out the Take Our Kids to Work website.
Some of the comments from students included, “I enjoyed meeting new friends and learning about the University and being in the A.L.T.I.T.U.D.E. groups.”
The day would not have been possible without the help of the McMaster staff and student volunteers who gave up their time to assist with registration, crowd direction and giving tours.
It was an extremely successful event and the facilitating committee is looking forward to hosting next year's Grade 9 students in 2008.
