Job Shadowing is more than just a day off.

     As I walked into the library at Westside Middle School, I had no idea what to expect. I was just hoping it wouldn’t be bored faces and thumbs texting away. Instead, I was greeted with eager faces, hands waving in the air, and kids about to burst out of their skin. They were excited.
    Instead of sleeping the day away and just taking Thursday off, I spent my time shadowing the people at the Conference for Inclusive Communities. Spencer Terry and Pam Goudriaan are the program directors for CFIC and have been working with me since the beginning of the school year. 
    What CFIC does is difficult to explain. Their mission statement says:
     “The Conference for Inclusive Communities is a human relations organization confronting prejudice, bigotry and discrimination through educational programs that raise awareness, foster leadership and encourage advocacy for a just and inclusive society.” – www.Cficonline.com
     To boil it down, they take everyday issues and throw them in our faces and make us deal with them. There are two major events for high school students to attend that are run by CFIC. One is IncluCity and the other is their one day workshop. I attended them both, and instead of just a paradigm shift like the rest of my peers, my whole life shifted course. I realized how much I needed to be a part of this work. 
    So I went with them to talk to the students at Westside Middle. These kids were excited about human relations and how they could be a part of it. After an hour or so of making posters and talking, we went back to the office to do a strategic planning session and go over an itinerary for their retreat. It doesn’t sound like a fun filled, exciting day, but for me, it was exactly what I needed. The satisfaction I get from knowing that one day I can stand next to Spence and Pam and say, “We just changed that person’s life,” is more than anyone could imagine. I am only seventeen years old and I know what I am meant to do.
     This isn’t work that makes your wallet fat, or gets you on the big screen. This is work that feeds your soul. It gives you that sense of accomplishment, that you can make a positive change in this big old world of ours.