CAREER GUIDANCE - Std VIII to XII - SRA Colony Children at Mahakali Road

30^th SEPTEMBER 2018

Around 30 children from the SRA colonies surrounding Sacred Heart Church, Mahakali Road assembled at Shantighar centre on Sunday 30th September for a session on Career Guidance conducted by Life Anchor Thomas Lobo.

The children ranged from classes VIII-XII. The session touched on the dimension of dreaming your future and realizing your dreams with courage, fortitude and determination. The need to take up higher education as a step towards building long term sustainable careers was emphasised.

Each of the assembled students shared their career dreams and it was edifying to observe that despite their impoverished condition, many were aspiring to take up challenging careers like medicine, aviation, engineering and chartered accountancy.

The students were provided an overview of alternate career pathways which would fulfil their career aspirations without much of a financial investment. The participants were asked to focus on soft skills, primarily English language communication skills, which would go a long way in building self-confidence & poise.

A follow-up session to develop soft skill has been planned in the near future.

CAREER GUIDANCE - Std VIII to XII - SRA Colony Children at Mahakali Road

07^th AUGUST 2018

Career choice after 10th Std. paves the way for one's future and making the right choice then becomes critical. One needs to understand his or her strength, area of interest and aptitude and then decide which stream to take to have a fruitful career.

Accepting parents & relatives' decision, following friends and the herd mentality, getting tempted by current trends, jumping into any career without application of mind, not planning for the future etc. are common mistakes students make while making a career choice. The decision making process becomes more difficult when coupled with the vast array of opportunities available in different spectrums of career options.

However, correct guidance propels students to choose their goals and objectives and excel in their careers.

The seminar commenced with Sr. Romana, the Principal introducing the trainers Mr Thomas Lobo and Mr Leslie D'souza to the students.

The students were explained about the importance of choosing the right career depending on their level of interest / aptitude for a particular field. Emphasis was laid on having a 'DREAM' which is the key factor in one's success. A video depicting successful individuals was shown how they dreamt and achieved their success in respective fields of sports, science, business, etc.

The students were explained how Happiness becomes more important than Success as many successful people are not happy while every happy person is successful in life.

Various streams of subjects were vividly explained providing students with information necessary to make appropriate choices. Careers in Arts, Science and Commerce streams besides careers in Acting, Medicine, Aeronautical Engineering, Food & Home Science, Chartered Accountancy, Media, Communication & Journalism, etc. were touched up on amidst a load of others.

At the end, the question and answer session suggested how essential the course was for children and the benefits it entailed. Most questions were answered and Mr Thomas also provided his email ID for future correspondence if any.

The school captain deputed one of the students to give a vote of thanks.

Many children waited back and got further clarifications sought. The guidance seminar certainly helps students take fitting steps moving forward into right careers.