I had the honor of being able to volunteer at my son's high school, Mater Dei High School to assist in a wonderful program that they offered which was called Senior Interviews. It is a huge undertaking requiring parents to come and volunteer to sit and listen to a senior who is in professional dress and must come to the table to personally interview with you. Each senior would have 6 minutes to answer questions, then move into the next 4 minutes to have dialogue, tell them how they did, or have the student ask questions. These students came prepared, resumes to hand in, professional dress. The firm handshake, the eye contact, the appearance all provided a great first impression. I have always told our athletes that you only have 7 seconds to make a great first impression. I wanted to not just ask questions of the students, I wanted them to share with me their story. I wanted to convey to them that upon interviewing that when they left the interview that I wanted them to have felt that they at least were able to share their story and walk out of the interview satisfied with that. Fantastic sharing of their stories came out, each of them had a Hero's Journey to share at some point during the interview. Yesterday was my turn to be interviewed on the Fireside Chat with the special invitation of Bryce Brown who I had the honor and privilege of recruiting as a student athlete. I have said as a coach, you never know what impact you have as a coach until 10 years later when you see those that were under your supervision and seeing what they are doing with their life. Did they use basketball as a tool to get an education? Are they using those skills now in their professional lives. He most certainly is.
Listen in : Fireside Chat with Coach John Saintignon
After this broadcast, I had to turn around and complete a full day of helping students, by being an Ambassador for the University of California at Santa Cruz at the Anaheim Convention Center. It was a great time to this time answer questions from students, parents, event some administrators within the Anaheim School District about the University of California, admission requirements, what it is like to live on campus, how far away from Orange County, what is the most popular major, but the best question I received was this.
Will UCSC bring out my inner voice?
This was someone who wants to be able to share their story.
Take the time to reach out and volunteer, you will be amazed by what you gain by offering your time!
Pursue your Passion!