The Ticker
jnrobertson@uh.edu
Communications Manager
Bauer Leadership Students Mentor At-Risk High School Students Through Game of Real Life
Bauer students had the opportunity during the day-long event to show high school students the UH campus.
Students from the Ted Bauer Leadership Certificate Program at the University of Houston C. T. Bauer College of Business were an integral part of a potentially life-changing event in late October as they interacted with high school students who have previously participated in the Game of Real Life.
The Game of Real Life is an educational experience for local at-risk teens coordinated by the non-profit organization Skills For Living. For the past few years, Leadership Certificate students have guided small groups of high school students as they participate and are exposed to such concepts as applying for a scholarship or filing a tax return in the midst of a day-long exercise that simulates real life. The Leadership students serve as mentors and sounding boards, and impress upon students how a series of individual choices will ultimately affect their career options and lives.
On Saturday, Oct. 24, in Farish Hall’s Kiva room, students who participated in the exercise gathered for the first time, said Lorraine Decker, a founder of Skills For Living. Bauer students in the Ted Bauer Leadership Certificate Program were on hand to conduct a series of speed interviews designed to prepare the teens for successful job and internship interviews.
While the exercises were invaluable for the high school students, the Bauer students also benefited, Decker said. “They’re sitting on the opposite side of the desk and seeing what common mistakes there are, because the same common mistakes occur at all ages,” she said.
The Leadership Certificate students are also wonderful role models for the younger students, Decker said, since many of them come from challenging backgrounds not so different than those in the program.
“They begin to see with the leadership students that they come from all countries. It really doesn’t matter where you come from or what your background is, but it is really important where you’re going and what you’re going to do in life.”
To learn more about Skills For Living, visit http://www.skills4living.org/, and for more information on the Ted Bauer Leadership Certificate program, click here.
By Julie Bonnin
About the University of Houston
The University of Houston, Texas' premier metropolitan research and teaching institution, is home to more than 40 research centers and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate, civic and governmental entities. UH, the most diverse research university in the country, stands at the forefront of education, research and service with more than 35,000 students.
About the Bauer College of Business
The C.T. Bauer College of Business has been in operation for more than 60 years at the University of Houston main campus. Through its five academic departments, the college offers a full-range of undergraduate, masters and doctoral degrees in business. The Bauer College is fully accredited by the AACSB International - the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. In August 2000, Houston business leader and philanthropist Charles T. (Ted) Bauer endowed the College of Business with a $40 million gift. In recognition of his generosity, the college was renamed the C.T. Bauer College of Business.