I last attended high school half a lifetime ago. Literally. So I was very excited to pack my satchel (now a fashion item it seems) and travel to Stewart’s Melville College to meet their S5 students and the girls from Mary Erskine’s to attend a career’s lunch.
Times have changed. There certainly were not any flat screen TVs at my school, and I don’t recall attending any career’s events such as this – no disrespect to my high school intended, JGHS was and still is a great school (Fidelis et Fortis!), it just wasn’t something on offer at the time.
I joined a group of professionals from various backgrounds to discuss our careers with the pupils and explain how we got to where we were now. I thought this was a fantastic initiative, and an excellent opportunity for the students to ask questions about different industries, how they might join them, and perhaps hear about some options they had not yet considered.
My own road to PR was a long one, and I tried a few different things on the way, from filmmaking to working with cowboys. I also travelled a lot, something many of the students were interested in, and I really recommend seeing as much of the world as you can.
All the experiences that led me to my job today helped shape who I am and how I approach my work. I really enjoyed sharing these with the students, who were engaged and ambitious, and did their schools proud.
The future is looking bright for these young people, and I think many of them would do well in PR, should they consider it as a career option. I find it to be a creative and rewarding job, and I hope they would too.
Thanks for inviting me @esmsedinburgh, I was tremendously impressed and hope your students enjoyed the afternoon as much as I did!
