YOUR ROAD MAPPath Ways to College and Career Readiness- Workshop 1

The Objective for today’s workshop

To give you Goal Setting and Prioritization skills that will serve as the foundation for your college application or resume writing

To set foundation goals for yourself to use over the next year to help you get to where you want to go (your Road Map so to speak)

Who Are These People?

Some Things These People Have Said

Barack Obama “If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.”

Oprah Winfrey said “I don't think of myself as a poor, deprived ghetto girl who made good. I think of myself as somebody who from an early age knew I was responsible for myself, and I had to make good.”

Chris Gardner (the Movie In the Pursuit of Happyness was based on his life story) "You can only depend on yourself. The cavalry ain't coming. Those were the most influential words my mother ever told me.”

Judge Sonia Sotomayor ” Although I grew up in very modest and challenging circumstances, I consider my life to be immeasurably rich.”

Maya Angelou “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”

Some Things These People Have Said

Jimmy Smits “I am a firm believer in education and have worked very hard to tell young Latinos that they must go to college and that, if possible, they should pursue an advanced degree. I am convinced that education is the great equalizer.”

Mark Zuckerberg“I started the site when I was 19. I didn't know much about business back then.”

Russell Simmons “In my experience, there's only one thing that will always steer you toward success: That's to have a vision and to stick with it… Once I have a vision for a new venture, I'm going to ride that vision until the wheels come off.”

Hillary Clinton “Probably my worst quality is that I get very passionate about what I think is right.”

What Do You have in Common With Them?

Habits of Highly Effective People

Passion

Goals

Focus

Resilience

Ambition

Opportunity

Exercise 1

Close your eyes

Picture a person walking down a road towards you

That person is you, several years from now- it is who you want to become

Write down what you see

Exercise 1 Debrief

What did you see?

What did you write down?

Physical Characteristics? Personal Traits? Visual clues?

What are they looking for? Who do they Want to see?

The Map… First Know the Destination, then Plan Your Route

You have a picture of who you want to be several years from now…. How will you get there? Technical School/College, College, Job? What do they want to see from you as you begin the

conversation around your future? What do you say? What do you show them? What do you tell them about your experience?

What Defines a Goal?

In order for something to be a goal:

It has to be important to you, personally.

It has to be within your power to make it happen through your own actions.

It has to be something you have a reasonable chance of achieving.

It must be clearly defined and have a specific plan of action.

Exercise 2

Take a blank piece of paper and fold it so there are four equal columns (fold in half and then in half again)

Title the first column “What I want to do with my life”

Title the second column “What I want to accomplish in the next 1-5 years”

Title the third column “ If I only had 6 months to live, how would I spend my time”

Leave the fourth column blank right now

Exercise 2 continued

Take 2 minutes per column (I will keep track of the time for you)

Write whatever pops into your head

Exercise 2 Debrief

What do you think about what you have written down? Any surprises?

Were any of the sections harder to complete than the others?

What types of activities did you put on the “if I only had six months” column? These are the activities that you value most Now go back and make a final list that combines the “6

months to live list” items with elements from the other two lists. Title the blank column “My Goals” and be sure to put your career AND personal goals on the list

Exercise 1 Continued

Now, looking at your sheet prioritize your goals in order of importance

The Basic Rules of Goal Setting

1. Define the goal.*

2. Outline the steps needed to achieve it.

3. Consider possible blocks and ways of dealing with them.

4. Set deadlines.

*Not every wish can be a goal. For instance, you may wish you could live and stay young forever, but since there's nothing you can do to make that happen, it could never be considered a goal.

Nelson Mandela- His Journey and Yours

After 28 years in prison he was elected to be the first Democratic President of South Africa.

What do you think he was thinking as he stood in his office on the first day of his Presidency?

He had no idea how to accomplish all that lay before him

What emotions do you think he experienced?

Did he know that Rugby would enable him to end Apartheid?

In Conclusion

Having a vision of where you want to end up is the first step of your journey

Having goals and objectives will be a critical element to plan how you will achieve your vision

Your goals and objectives will also translate into the elements of your resume and/or college applications

Homework

Between now and Workshop #2 access What’s Next Illinois and complete these items:

Use the School Finder to explore your post-secondary options

Use the High School Planning Timeline to make sure that you are on track for graduation/ and that you know what classes that you have to take to be eligible for the school/college/job that you are choosing.

Edit your set of planning milestones, to include your goals, and time frames, give it a name, “Kasey’s Jr. Year Milestones” and bring it to the next workshop.