Adam Saenz, Ph.D., Founder & CEO “The Applied EQ Team”
Webinars and virtual events have become an everyday occurrence during the pandemic, but have you ever attended a conference where you received a virtual notebook? Hundreds of high school and college counselors across the Central Valley received this innovative tool at a conference series organized by two sectors in the region.
Dennis Mohle, ICT-DM Regional Director, and Alese Campbell, Business & Entrepreneurship Regional Director in the Central Valley/Mother Lode Region, collaborated with other regional directors and the regional consortia on a series of half-day virtual workshops for CTE counselors in the region.
Webinars in the series explored how to cultivate authentic relationships in a virtual work environment, how to understand stress, and what the future holds for the ICT-DM and Business & Entrepreneurship sectors. The digital notebook was offered in the third part of this series (3.0) as a way to further engage counselors and be a resource tool for the region. It included information about the speakers, additional resources, and plenty of space for attendees to capture their thoughts and reflections as the day progressed.
“We have successfully engaged counselors and kept them viewing the series. We used to have one in-person conference, but now we spread out three virtual conferences throughout the year. This format is working well in our region,” Mohle said. “Counselors now have a handy list of resources – names, numbers, and web links to connect them to the people and resources most valuable during these difficult times.”
Campbell said the series is aligned with the Guided Pathways and Vision for Success initiatives from the Chancellor’s office and provides an opportunity to showcase student success across sectors in internships and full-time jobs.
“We often find that especially high school counselors are not aware of the vast amount of CTE programs, potential jobs/careers,” Campbell said. “We welcome the opportunity to share our pilot programs, student success stories, employer’s pulse of the market, and what each of the 15 community colleges in our region has to offer.”
Attendees appreciated the effort that Mohle, Campbell, and the rest of the planning team put into creating a meaningful event that will help them help their students.
“Of all the professional development I have attended this year, this event was the one that really made an impact and gave me the motivation I needed to finish strong this year,” said Matha Elias, a counselor at Nueva High School. “It had all the elements that helped me to recharge and be ready to continue ‘being there’ for my students.”
To watch a recording of the third conference presentation featuring guest speaker Adam Saenz, Ph.D., Founder & CEO of “The Applied EQ Team”, visit https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/O2k9J8NHxmo3yf7tpx6lXjjjPR52cJBcE78ZHpCHiHTk-Hg0rgiolhyjjKLZtskw.ikuKc7FJ0ZvQK9_t and enter password 8Wf7e$03.