PHILIPSBURG:--- On Saturday, January 25th, the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset hosted the “Level Up” workshop at the Marie Genevieve de Weever Primary school from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. The Level Up workshop was established as a means to encourage and assist in the progression of the youth, post-high school. The workshop offered three sessions comprising of Time Management, Resume Building and Interview Etiquette and was initiated as a means to support and encourage students in the 5th and 6th forms of high school, within the respective areas. Presenting on Time Management was Mr. Rolando Tobias and Ms. Andrea Paul; Rotarian Ms. Adelena Chandler-Schaap conducted Resume Building module, and Ms. Nathalie Lambriex conducted Interview Etiquette portion of the workshop. Thirty students from the Charlotte Brookson Academy, Milton Peters College, Caribbean International Academy, Learning Unlimited, St. Maarten Academy, St. Dominic High School, St. Maarten Vocational Training School and Sundial school attended the workshop, in business casual attire, which was a requirement of the workshop. At the end of the sessions, Kelvin “King James” James, surprised the students to end off the workshop. He provided a motivational speech about his educational journey as well as his journey to becoming an artist. He left the students with words of encouragement and stressed on the importance of higher education as the foundation for life.
The club felt it imperative that during the month of vocational awareness, that students be given another opportunity to receive reinforcement and support about topics that go beyond the classroom. “In connection with January's theme of Vocational Services the Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset came up with the idea of hosting the first annual Level-Up Workshop. Most high school students are preparing their college applications or getting ready for the workforce, therefore we choose each topic carefully to compliment such. The sessions were well-received and the feedback from the students was positive. As a club, we are hoping to make next year's Level-Up Workshops even bigger and better”, Youth Service Chair, Jennifer Rombley added.
The Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset would like to thank all schools and students for assisting and taking part in the workshop. In addition, a special thank you to the management and staff of the Marie Genevieve de Weever School for allowing the club to utilize the venue and Member of Parliament Anna Richardson, for her kind donation towards the successful event. The expectation is to continue hosting the workshop, in hopes of providing a continuous impact on the lives of students, especially in the final years of high school, on both Dutch and French St. Martin.