3 Reasons Experiential Learning Will Help Youth Thrive Through the Pandemic
Select restaurants integrated safe drop-off practices into their delivery service and created ghost kitchens amidst this time of quarantine.
Hospitality brands adjusted the language they use to describe their spaces normally used for gathering and kept their client base engaged through nostalgic content and creative campaigns.
The creative industry sprung up new grants to support independent artists, community collectives started new initiatives to educate & inspire their neighbors and we even saw live performances occurring in deserted streets to bring a sense of peace to all the ears that could hear.
None of these methods were commonplace before the world had to face a challenge never seen before. Yet, as humans do, we adapted to the experience.
Below are three reasons as to how experiential learning will benefit young professionals in the midst of this pandemic.
1. We Become Self-starters
Firstly, anyone has the opportunity to be a self-starter, and no, this does not pertain specifically to entrepreneurs. This applies to those that can set goals and take on projects without needing to be told or encouraged to do so. However, because this action might require some independence — these people need to embrace challenges and be resilient in order to find alternative solutions.
Although experiential learning in the academic sense is designed to marry student engagement with workplace practices in a more controlled and intentional manner, the biggest lesson students take home is how to exercise adaptive thinking and take smart risks.
None of the businesses in the aforementioned industries could guarantee success when they made their pivot. But, they listened to the public and prioritized service over return.
This time of global quarantine is encouraging everyone to think about how they can make changes to survive and thrive in uncertain times.
When we become self-starters, we motivate ourselves and others to push forward into the unknown for the sake of creativity, cutting away waste, and discovering new ways to provide value.
2. Our Resourcefulness is Tested
Business closures of non-essential services was a setback that all of us faced together.
This action took away jobs for most people, clients for others, and an assured sense of security for all.
Although this hard-hit was unfathomably shocking, what shocked me more was the response: careful and calm reassessment rather than incessantly scrambling.
We all watched the world take this hit on the chin and get back up.
Aside from the reserve of willpower, it takes to do that, this response also tested companies, entrepreneurs, and creatives to see how resourceful they could be.
In-person workshops and training shifted to expanding the virtual experience.
Music artists traded live concerts in-person for live concerts online.
Entrepreneurs invested in community action, focusing on qualitative growth over quantitative growth for the time being.
Let these examples stand as evidence that even when it looks like you have nothing to work with — we always have our creativity, our community…and the internet.
3. We Are Forced to Sharpen Our Craft
Personally, the evolution of rising from a lower socioeconomic-class, molded my mind to attribute a large sense of my identity to a job. Jobs that would pay me the “big bucks” to deliver services as part of their team was what playing catch is for dogs: a relentless chaser focused on catching whatever opportunity is thrown and rarely focused on what is being offered in return.
For those who have been furloughed, let go or are just entering the workforce, use this time to rediscover what your selling point is.
What is it that makes you an asset?
How are you different in your approach to work?
Why do you put so much time into what you work for?
My hope is that these questions will help you to reflect and think critically about what it is you can offer to the future of work, your community, and our planet.
Maximize your value through getting specific on what your craft is, even if it applies to different disciplines.
As much as this time has taught us that we can lean on our friends & family, some of us have also learned that, in certain situations, we’re dispensable. So what do we need to do to become indispensable? Double down on our strengths and refuse to wait for others to show us the path to development.
When you sustain curiosity about yourself and how much you can grow, the visions that are presented are the areas calling for your attention and focus.
We just need to be courageous enough to pursue them.
