FRAMINGHAM, MA
From April 19th to April 23rd, ten 14-15 year old students from the MetroWest region, including Framingham, Marlborough, and Ashland, were selected to participate in the April Vacation Programming week where students built on “soft skills” that can be utilized both in school and ultimately in the workplace.
April Vacation Programming was funded by the Framingham Coalition and led by Fiana Herscovici, the Youth Programs Assistant of the MassHire Metro South/West Workforce Board. The week-long program centered on instilling crucial, employable skills within students, with Monday (4/19) being focused on communication, Tuesday (4/20) around time management, Wednesday (4/21) around personal branding, and Thursday (4/22) around collaboration.
Throughout the course of the week, students completed four assignments including an Email Etiquette assignment to instill proper email-writing techniques that are vital to professional communication, the Personal Branding Project divided into two assignments, the Personal Branding Script and the Personal Branding Video, and lastly, a Program Reflection discussing what students learned from the workshops they attended during the week. The Personal Branding Project was the pivotal assignment students were tasked with, requiring participants to reflect and write down in a script their professional interests, strengths, weaknesses, and career goals in order to create a 30-60 second elevator pitch. Students then created videos of themselves recording their reading of their Personal Branding Scripts to create their Personal Branding Videos. On Friday, April 23rd, friends and family were invited to the April Vacation Programming Showcase and watched these student submitted Personal Branding Videos and listened to participants share their Program Reflections.
The mission of the April Vacation Programming week was to empower youths 14-15 years old to professionally communicate, collaborate, and create in the workforce. Over the course of the week, students grasped and applied the soft skills of communication, time management, personal branding, and collaboration to their lives at school, at home, and in the future, at work. Each of these students will change over time, with this week of programming being their first step towards growth and development personally, academically, and professionally. By embracing the lessons learned this week, students can draw on their evolving soft skills to become the person they want to be.
For more information, email the Youth Programs Assistant of the MassHire Metro/Wouth West Workforce Board, Fiana Herscovici at fherscovici@masshiremsw.com or call 617-676-7345.
