During my time at Holy Cross I had the opportunity to lead the students in a fundraiser event through S.E.P., an organization that helps teachers create an entrepreneurial mindset in their students. My class decided to sell hot chocolate to the rest of the school to raise money for C.E.F.O. the Catholic Education Foundation in Ottawa that helps students living in poverty pay for supplies, food, clothes and any other thing parents are struggling with in supporting their child. Organizing this was no small task, especially because we ran this for two months, but it was a great experience to do this with my grade 1 students and see how they were learning about how much work goes into running a business, advertising, getting supplies, making the hot chocolate, keeping track of the around 200 students who ordered, counting the money, and keeping up with deliveries.

This not only gave me a great chance to learn more about each students strengths, but I also learned a lot about the school as we delivered and advertised our hot chocolate introducing myself to the other teachers and students along the way!

Coaching the badminton team at St. Thomas More was not an experience I was expecting to get. But I am so grateful my mentor asked me to take this on by myself. It was such a fun time getting to run tryouts, practices, and coaching them through the tournament. I saw the students enthusiasm slowly start to match my own. Watching them improve in their skills and strategies through my coaching was something I will never forget. My Girl’s team ended up winning 16 of their 19 games and I was so proud. This experience taught me the value of being excited. If you are excited for them, students will see it and reflect it.