Executives offer teens sound advice

“The school you attend is an enabler, but you are the decisive variable.”

“Remember, exams have no bias, your grades . . . will not depend on the school . . . but on your performance.”

“Man-up”, “men don’t cry” are notions advanced by society, which could be harmful.

These bits of advice were given to male students at two secondary schools, St. Leonard’s and Coleridge and Parry (CP) by executives of CIBC FirstCaribbean as the world marked International Men’s Day.

St. Leonard’s alumnus and now Chief Information Officer and Managing Director, Technology & Operations at CIBC FirstCaribbean, Esan Peters and his colleague, Kerry Jordan – who attended CP and is currently the bank’s Manager, Trade Finance– held virtual interactive sessions with the students at their alma maters.

Peters joined fifth and sixth formers, near the close of their secondary school life, while Jordan hosted first formers, at the beginning of theirs.

Jordan spoke about positive practices, including saving habits, telling them the story of how he sold newspapers and how that effort reaped success for him.

To their delight, Jordan engaged them in a competition which resulted in two students winning $50 each either to add to their savings account or to open an account.

Jordan used the example of him selling newspapers to teach them important principles regarding saving, managing money and managing themselves.

He told them about managing themselves and their money and spoke about setting goals and planning.

Stressing the need to be involved in several aspects of school life, the Trade Finance Manager recalled playing cricket and football as well as running track at school.

He also told them that in life they would make mistakes; that as a schoolboy, he lost his way at times but that was where mentorship helped.

“I played cricket and there were older guys who helped me a lot.”

Jordan told the students to expect society to ascribe behaviours to boys that could lead to psychological problems such as “act like a man”, “man-up”, “men don’t cry” since it led boys to stifle their feelings and cause them to be afraid to acknowledge that they were in pain or wanted help. Instead, he urged the first formers to express their true feelings in a non-threatening way.

“Be loving and caring, there is nothing soft about that,” he added.

Over at St Leonard’s, the conversation with the fifth and sixth formers took a similar slant, but at their age-appropriate level and included much more talk about careers.

Peters reminded the students that he was once where they currently are in their academic careers, adding that his progress was evidence of the possibilities for them. St. Leonard’s, he said, groomed and moulded him, and like them, he was blessed with good teachers who were positive mentors. He added that he never felt inferior about his attendance at that school.

“The school you attend is an enabler, but you are the decisive variable,” he said. “At St. Leonard’s, I prided myself on doing the best. What people say about a school does not matter. I aimed for an A each time. Remember, exams have no bias, your grades . . . will not depend on the school . . . but on your performance.”

He therefore encouraged the students to study hard and read widely. Reading, he said, would help them make better decisions and spot opportunities, noting that in life, one encountered many paths with different branches that required proper preparation and decision making.

The information technology specialist used his career path as he demonstrated some of these habits and principles. Peters explained that he enrolled at the University of the West Indies (UWI) to study Mathematics en route to fulfilling his dream of becoming a Maths teacher and eventually a university mathematics professor. However, Peters said, the UWI greatly widened his perspectives and when he took his first class in computer science, he knew that was the direction in which he wanted to go.

His first job was at an offshore company, which prepared him for the future, since among other helpful experiences, it involved working with people from several countries and cultures. Today, he supervises people in many countries including the Caribbean, India and Canada.

Peters also spoke about a previous job at another Caribbean institution which carried a very attractive salary and many benefits, but at the end of his contract he didn’t seek a renewal since the job didn’t challenge him. According to him, he learned a critical lesson about himself then. “My biggest takeaway . . . was that I need to challenge myself.”

He encouraged the students to find something they were passionate about pursuing.

“Be curious… Success is never a destination; I had a boss who told me to try to become better every day”, Peters said, pointing to some of the principles he followed.

He left the students with a recipe for success that includes practice, lots of reading, listening and not being afraid to make mistakes but thinking of it as a challenge to overcome.

He advised the students, who were approaching the end of their secondary school careers, to work hard at this stage in their lives. He drew their attention to the amount of free online courses offered by reputable learning institutions, which he said they could sample to see if they would be beneficial to them, and would allow them to be exposed to a wide variety of subjects. (PR)