Principal for a Day Diary

As you can probably guess it has been a few years since I have attended High School, but on May 10th I received a promotion from St Agnes HS Senior (circa 1974)? to Principal (for a Day).?

Last week I was part of @PENCILInc Principal for a Day,? a program that pairs business leaders with NYC public high schools. I spent the morning at the High School of Hospitality Management on Manhattan's West Side. The first hour of my day was spent with Principal Yves Mompoint and Assistant Principal Katia Drouillard, discussing the challenges of riding out Covid. I was happy to hear that they felt the 2022-23 school year was the first that felt back-to-normal. We discussed the initiatives of the NY Public High Schools to get kids prepared for college and the world of work.?

After our discussion, I visited several classes. What jumped out to me most was how focused and attentive the students were: even the hallways were quiet. As a Human Resources executive, I was particularly impressed by the Career Pathways class. This class helps students prepare for the world of work, including practicing job interviews, writing thank you notes, and even discussing challenging work situations. My takeaway was that this high school had better career coaching than even my college did!

We ended my day with a debrief and a meeting with eight students. While I assumed that all the students had a particular interest in Hospitality, I was dead wrong. Their interests spanned from medicine to architecture to acting. Shout out to the three seniors Souadou, Jasmine, and Camille who have all been accepted to Vanderbilt, Morgan State and Georgia State, respectively. Also, a shout out to Ashley who has a summer internship at the Rockefeller University Summer Program.??

As I left, I told Judea, a tenth grader, that it was okay not knowing exactly what he wanted to do. In tenth grade, I had no clue what career path I would take, either. Principal For a Day was an eye opening experience. Connecting with students and teachers, and seeing first-hand the diversity of offerings that New York public schools have is something I will carry with me for a long time. I can’t wait to do it again next year! So proud for? #Saatva being? an active partner with Pencil #PencilInc ? #CorporateSocialResponsibility #hshm ; #crmya