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Last Friday the Calais School welcomed back one of our favorite guest speakers, Gordon Damer of ESPN’s “The Gordon Damer Show.” As a professional sports broadcaster, Gordon came to speak to the students in our 12 Plus Program about his career and to drop some knowledge about the importance of work skills.
With an emphasis on hard work and accountability, Mr. Damer shared some personal stories about the trials and tribulations of making himself employable and building a successful career. The students had many questions to ask him about his experience and his industry.
Some of the key takeaways the 12 Plus Program students gleaned from their visit with Gordon Damer:
-Success at a job includes holding yourself accountable for getting to work on time, understanding and completing what is expected of you and putting in an honest day’s work from the time you start to the time you are finished.
-You must arrive to work prepared and willing to work. Not only will this help make you employable, it may also open you to more opportunities down the road.
-It’s important to be flexible and you have to be willing to continue professional development on your own time.
-Always dress for the job you want not the job you have.
-How you present yourself can go a long way. That includes not just clothing but hygiene, manners and how you speak to and treat others.
Of course, you can’t speak with a NY sports radio veteran and not expect to hear some sports-related anecdotes. In particular, a Wally Pipp reference comes to mind. Walter Clement Pipp was the starting first baseman for the New York Yankees. As legend has it, he asked the Coach to sit out due to a headache and now he will forever be remembered as the man who lost his starting role to another player you may have heard of, Lou Gehrig. If you are a Yankees fan or a baseball enthusiast then you know that Gehrig went on to play a streak of 2,130 consecutive games.
The moral of the story is “Don’t be a Wally Pipp.” In other words come to work prepared, well rested and willing to do your job. We are all replaceable and should use that idea as motivation to always do our best.
Thank you to Gordon Damer for leading an insightful and inspirational discussion on job skills, work readiness and building a career!
At the Calais School, work readiness is a key component of our Transition Education curriculum. We have partnered with local businesses in a variety of industries to provide students with hands-on job training and job skills development to help enhance their employability. For more details on our Transition Education and associated programs click here.
