CHSU Prepares High School Students with College and Career Skills

CHSU recently hosted a PEARL: Professional Education and Readiness • Leadership and Lifelong Learning Summer Class in July. This one week, full day intensive course was targeted to high school students and was intended to strengthen their skills in preparation for college and career.
Adapted from a semester long class for first year Doctor of Pharmacy students, PEARL is a unique course, full of challenges and opportunities for reflection. It was designed to be transformational – just as an oyster transforms a grain of sand, layer by layer, into a lustrous gem – into a PEARL of great value.
The course incorporates lessons from the national bestseller book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens” by Sean Covey. It focuses on self-awareness, professionalism, teamwork and leadership, and it provides students with a first taste of CHSU’s team-based learning approach and unique community. The skills that students learned will support their academic and professional success, but more importantly, it will set them on their own unique path of personal discovery and growth – challenging them to be the best they can be!
CHSU’s Provost, Dr. Wendy Duncan and the Chief of Staff, McKenna Salazar led the class and taught students topics that included communication skills, job interview skills, conflict resolution, morals, emotional intelligence, teamwork skills and other important life skills that will prepare them for college and their careers.
Students were also given the opportunity to take the Myers and Briggs Type Indicator assessment. This personality test is used by 89 of the Fortune 100 companies to maximize individual and team effectiveness from entry to executive levels. After students received their scores, they were able to better understand their personality type and how they interact with others. This valuable information provided an excellent framework for them to improve how they communicate, learn and work.
Many students were impressed by how much they learned through our hands-on approach. One student commented that “it pushes you out of your comfort zone, encourages growth and cooperation, and the teachers care about students excelling.” Another stated that “you not only develop skills, but open up a path for deep self-reflection”.
Thank you to all the students that participated in the class, we look forward to hosting it again next year!