Toastmasters:
I attended toastmasters for approximately 2 years to improve my public speaking abilities. Before attending the club I was terrified of public speaking. I held that common sentiment that I would rather die than give a speech but little by little I overcame my fear. Once comfortable with public speaking I took every chance I could to continue to improve my comfort in front of groups of people. Regularly public speaking as a City Councillor I am now very comfortable speaking in front of groups of all sizes. These skills are very useful in a classroom setting as the scrutiny, even from a class of students, can easily wear a person down.
Fresh Outlook Foundation Building Sustainable Communities Conference:
I attended this conference in Kelowna in 2015. The conference focused on local community building through sharing of best practices from successful implementation of projects by expert speakers. As this was a conference focused on local community building many of the workshops looked at more nuanced and ‘human’ aspects of community organizing such as building empathy, compassion, creativity and resilience within an organization. Since attending the conference I have made concerted efforts to cultivate these skills within myself. These so called ‘soft skills’ are so critical to role model and nurture in our students so they grow into well rounded citizens engaged in their communities.
Local Government Leadership Academy:
I attended the LGLA (Local Government Leadership Academy) annual conference in 2013. At the conference I learned a variety of tips and tricks from seasoned community leaders. These skills included organizational capacity, management techniques for dealing with high stress situations and methods of working within a large team towards common goals even when disagreements within a group exist. At the conference I also attended a variety of workshops related to social media and mobile technologies many of which have functions which will be beneficial in a classroom setting for time management and work related organization.