School daze

I had a really busy week with settling back into school, volunteer training and my new little gig at the college. It was nice to see my friends at school and socialize with them again. It was fun catching up and taking in the different events happening around the college. One day, there were free hot dogs being given away, as well as snow cones and popcorn plus all kinds of shows taking place on the second floor rooftop. There were fashion shows, djs spinning music and live entertainment. It was bustling, loud and jam-packed, not to mention great for people watching.

As for the class I'm in - it's quite interesting. We've had different guest speakers talk about employment from different perspectives including homelessness and disabilities, as well as the agencies they represent. It's been very enlightening and informative.

Besides school, I also attended two training sessions for the volunteer work I'll be doing with women's programming at a health centre in the city. The facilitators have been amazing and the subject matter is really interesting. So far, we've learned about aspects related to sexual health, social determinants of health and health equity and the history of the organization. I love the way the material is presented - it's a combination of lecture and experiential learning (much like my practicum experience and schooling). I participated in some really creative and effective activities during the sessions which I'll keep in my arsenal for career counselling as some of them can work as energizers or other fun activities. I'm looking forward to the rest of the sessions and learning more about peer education.

Speaking of peers...I also had a shift at the college where I'm a Peer Advisor. There was quite a bit of traffic as students signed up for workshops, asked questions about the services provided or to gain refuge from the busy corridors filled with students. I met a group of students in the same program as me so I had a chance to tell them about my experiences and share any tips that I thought might be helpful.

We don't have classes tomorrow but I'll be going to the college to attend a workshop and then put in a couple of hours at the centre. The rest of the day will be spent working on a Powerpoint presentation for class.