The College and Career Ready Podcast | empowering students for the careers of tomorrow
Join your host Sonia Cacique on a transformative journey preparing high school and college students for real world careers, equipping them with practical skills, professional experiences, and career guidance.
As a dedicated career guidance counselor, career coach, and education leader, Sonia has spent her entire career empowering the next generation for the future workforce. With her expertise, she helps students develop self-awareness, motivation, and career guidance, building the essential skills needed for success in both their educational and future professional journeys.
Coach Sonia is ready to shift the focus from GPA, class rank, and grades to career connections, self-identity, character development, and real-world skills. She aims to challenge the traditional narratives and provide students with a comprehensive approach to education and career readiness. Changing lives for our next gens, one student at a time.
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The College and Career Ready Podcast | empowering students for the careers of tomorrow
90. Why Connections Might Matter More Than Grades: A Lesson You Won't Learn in School or College
The Power of Connections in Career Success
In this episode of 'College and Career Ready,' host Sonia Cacique emphasizes the importance of building connections for high school and college students. Sonia, a former educator and now a career coach, shares her personal journey and how connections with mentors and professionals influenced her career growth. She offers practical advice on networking, gaining career clarity and even finding hidden scholarship opportunities for students.
After this episode you will have gained valuable resources to start making connections early and to discover new career opportunities. Coach Sonia shares personal anecdotes demonstrating how connections have significantly impacted her own career journey and advises students to engage with professionals in their fields of interest to gain insight and opportunities. The episode is a motivational guide on leveraging relationships to discover and pursue fulfilling career paths.
00:00 Introduction to College and Career Ready Podcast
01:06 The Importance of Connections
01:21 Join the College and Career Connections Club
02:49 Personal Journey and the Value of Mentors
05:55 Building Your Network for Career Success
10:39 Practical Steps to Build Connections
14:08 Career Connections Course and Community
16:12 Conclusion and Listener Engagement
Mentioned in the podcast:
Career Connections Course: www.CollegeCareerReady.org/course
College and Career Connections Club: www.CollegeCareerReady.org/join
Connect with Sonia Cacique
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Join our College and Career Connections Club for free at www.CollegeCareerReady.org/join
Learn about our Career Connections Course: www.CollegeCareerReady.org/COURSE
"Stay well, be present, and enjoy the journey"
Welcome to College and Career Ready, the only podcast that helps students transition from high school to college and college to their career. My name is Sonia Cacique. I'm a former educator, certified school counselor, career coach, and founder of Discover U. Together, we will redefine what it truly means to be college and career ready. And with our community, you don't have to do this alone. So come with me and let's get started.
Hey, my friend, thank you for joining us here today. we are going to be having a really good episode. I'm going to be talking about something that is not even a topic of discussion in our education system. And I'm not just talking about high school, I'm talking about college as well. So if you are a high school or college student, you are in the best episode, in my opinion. And You are in for a great topic of conversation I will be telling you why this is just as important in my opinion as what other people think of which is grades GPA and class rank and that is The value and importance of connections. And I will tell you why, but first I want to invite you to join our college and career connections club. It's our weekly newsletter with behind the scenes information, personal reflections from yours truly, and tips and tools and resources for both high school and college students. Every once in a while, I might even throw in a special scholarship that I might have found that I think is beneficial for most of my students. Listen, I say this in my intro, and I will say it again right now. You don't have to do this alone. And that is how I became so passionate about creating this space for all of my students, parents, and educators. So you don't have to do this alone. So how do you join? It's simple and free. All you have to do is go to the show notes and click on the link or go to collegecareerready. org forward slash join. Again, that's college career ready. All one word dot o r g forward slash join. I hope you join our college and career connections club that is growing by the hundreds of students, educators, and parents that want to join. So again, join us at college career ready dot o r g forward slash join. And that brings us to our topic of today. And let me give a little bit of backstory. So this topic came to mind after my second in person or I guess I should say virtual session my students that are part of the Summer Connections course. The Summer Connections course is a five week self paced online course with weekly live group sessions, all from the comfort of your own home. And you know what was surprising, something so rewarding for me personally, is that I have been blessed with a wide variety of students, everything from high school senior to current college students from first year college students to soon to graduate and even post college graduate students. And during this course, as I have been talking to them and reading their reflections and the responses in their lessons, I realized. The importance and the value of connections like in their own words They say they wish they would have known of this sooner but guess what you are in luck my friend because I'm telling you right now The value of connections I Personally have tons of examples in my personal life As a growing adult where thanks to connections, my career life is vastly different than I ever would have ever imagined. And I don't know if I've shared this with you before. I know I've shared it publicly, but when I graduated from high school, all I wanted to be, and I shouldn't say all, but the only thing I aspired to be was a certified pharmacy technician. That was it. That was my end point, which now, of course, I tell you that career is a journey, not an end point, but back then that was my end point. I was going to be a certified pharmacy technician for the rest of my life. Don't ask me why, but in that early stage of my life, I thought, Oh my gosh, I was done with high school and all I wanted to do was find the quickest way to get into a career. It's not what I do now, right? Cause now I teach you how to make that decision a little better, but how to get a career that would be decent paying and that I would finish my education as quickly as possible. That is how I made my decision. Of course, again, I'm not advocating for that any longer. As a matter of fact, I now hold a master's degree. Something that I would have never thought in my wildest dreams that I would ever be holding a master's degree. But the reason I share this, my friend is because now I have reached all of these educational accomplishments and career accomplishments. But it wasn't alone. I can't say that I did this all by myself and it was all me, me, me. I mean, yeah, it was me. Just kidding. No, it was thanks to the mentors, the connections, the people in my life that really helped me dream bigger and think bigger than I ever thought or ever imagined. What do I mean by connections? I mean mentors, support group, your community, your network, all of them form part of your connections Again. If it wasn't for these people in my life first one being my high school counselor, which bless her heart. All she could think of is let me get this girl to college and into a career again, that's not what I do now, so I'm so passionate about what I do, but That was her goal, right? And that was my goal too to at least get a decent paying job All right. And then from there, I became a certified pharmacy technician. And I remember speaking to Chris LeBlanc. She was our pharmacist at the pharmacy where I worked at. She looked at me one day and she asked me, what was my career goal? What else was I going to do? And I looked at her and I said, I'm going to be a certified pharmacy technician for the rest of my life. And I remember she looked at me and it was. It was the way she looked at me and the way she told me that I was capable of more, that really sunk in. Like I remember that moment in time where she looked at me and she said, Sonia, you're young, you have no kids. You have your full career, full life ahead of you. Why don't you go back to school and continue furthering your education? That conversation was the one that led me thinking about the next step. And I remember coming home and sharing it with my family and just even throwing that possibility and everybody was a hundred percent in support of it. And I thought, Oh my gosh, why not? I have a whole support system here telling me that I should go back to school. Now, again, this conversation is not about me. I'm just sharing how people in my life. have made an impact into the choices I have made in my education and in my career life. And it's thanks to them that I am where I am today. Now, okay, back to what I said earlier, my high school counselor and even my own mindset of just, Trying to get myself a job. It's no longer what I do now I actually work in something that I love and I'm passionate about as a matter of fact, I'm not going to lie I have enjoyed my career every single step of the way I've enjoyed the positions that I've had the different career opportunities that I've had but I realized that my students I say my students, that students were not getting this one on one. people were not having this conversation with them. It was like, what do you want to be when you grow up? Like the student would just. No, right or they would say what about this job? It's high paying not really even thinking if that career was aligned with with who they were if they had the skills gifts talents And interest in that career. It was just like that's a high paying job. That's the career you should pursue again That's why I'm so passionate about what I do and I'm so beyond blessed to With the opportunity to do this as a job, being a podcaster and being a career coach and news alerts. Those of you who are in my college and career connections club, you have already gotten a little bit of a sneak peek into some news that I will soon be sharing on the podcast, um, about another career opportunity and I'm really excited about discovery is not going anywhere by the way, of course, it's not but now instead of doing one on one coaching, I will strictly be doing only group coaching through my career connections course So more on that, in a little bit But I share all of this to say that it is very important for you students to build connections I personally know the value of having connections. And by the way, I'm sure you hear some geese in the backdrop. I'm outside in today's episode. And you know what? That's okay. I'm going to go with the flow. So what is another reason why I'm so passionate about connections? Because connections can open doors that you didn't even know existed. Like seriously, if you really think about it, if your circle or your network of friends is very small and you don't branch out beyond that, you're only going to know what your friends know or what you come across. But when you start building your connections and start exploring beyond your immediate community, you might see opportunities, career paths, scholarship opportunities. That you didn't even know existed. and that is why I feel so passionate about this. Okay, so you're probably thinking all right, coach Sonia. So I am already in a student group or a club or an organization at my school or college. And yes, absolutely. A hundred percent. I want you to continue doing that. I think that's very important for not only the experience you're going to gain, but the things that you can add to your resume, those transferable skills. That's obviously for another episode, but yes, I think that's very important. However, the connections I'm talking to you about are the connections with other professionals in the fields that you are interested in. These connections can help you with career alignment, maybe even discover scholarship opportunities for students specific in your field, which by the way, that also means a smaller pool of applicants, right? The more specific the scholarship is, the smaller the group of students that can qualify to apply for them. So you might bump into a scholarship opportunities you didn't even know existed. Internship opportunities to get those real world skills that you need. that eventually you will be asked about after you graduate from college, when you're looking for that first job opportunity in your career of interest. And then lastly, but just as important is the shadowing experiences, the shadowing opportunities that you can gain. You can learn so much by just being out with a professional for a day or doing an info session. A 15 minute info session can give you so much information and can give you insight into that potential career. Do not, students, listen to me, okay? If you're multitasking, stop what you're doing and listen to what I'm about to tell you. Do not pursue a career that you have not met someone in the field, that you haven't asked for. The right questions about the career field about what's a typical day. lots of other questions that I specifically train and coach my students in my course, but questions that will give you a clear insight if that is a good fit for you. So many students go into college with, towards a career path they've never even experienced. And I'm telling you, you're probably thinking, it's hard to get internships. Well, yes and no, but I'm not even talking about internships. I'm talking about just hopping on an information call, a 15 minute call with a professional in the field. Or again, maybe shadowing them for a day. these are all the opportunities that you can gain by building your connections. Again, when we talk about connections, we're talking about mentors, support group, community leaders, your network, all of those people form part of your community and your connections. Get in the same room as other professionals. So what does this mean? Find professional organizations that have various professionals in there. Maybe they have a local meetup that you can attend, a virtual session that you can attend. Immerse yourself in the field as early as possible because I don't want you going into college, worst case scenario, after graduating and realizing that's not a good fit. if you follow the steps that I mentioned in my career connections course You're going to find these answers Much much earlier and it's okay if you've graduated already and you're still not happy with your career choice The career connections course will be perfect for you as well. If you are interested in this self paced five week course. Well, I have to say the doors are closed right now because I've already started my summer cohort. We've already started and we do not allow any students to come in. It's a very closed group. We're very a tight connected group and so once doors close we don't open them again for this cohort. However, I will be opening this course again in the fall. So, if you want to be considered or if you want to be the first to know when this course is launched again, then you can go to collegecareerready. org forward slash course and join our wait list. There's tons of information. Obviously no charge to get into our waitlist. All you have to do is go to college career ready. org forward slash course and join our waitlist. those virtual group session calls are so important because this is where I teach you how to start building community. It has been amazing to see my students these last two weeks, the things that they've shared, the comments they have made and the community that we are building to support each other along the journey. We have student interaction, and again, we really help you with your own personal growth and development, to help you find that career that aligns perfectly with you, or at least give you the framework that you can rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat until that becomes clear and clear in your own journey. And remember, a growth mindset is what's going to help you become successful in your career, and that is something that I talk about in our course, and that I teach you along the way as well. Again, it's currently closed. Sorry. I didn't mean to be like join this course, which by the way, it's closed Sorry, I didn't mean to do that. But I think it's important because it's so aligned with the topic of conversation that you and I are having here today again Don't worry. We're going to open the class again, but join the waitlist That way you are alerted as soon as those doors are opened again All right, my sweet friend. So start discovering career paths and professionals in the field that interests you and start exploring the many opportunities that you can get through building connections. Again, you will not know what career opportunities are out there for you if you do not talk to other people in the field and start building your own network and your own community. I would not be here today. to you if it wasn't for the connections I have made throughout my life and hopefully I'll have more opportunities to share some names and other people in my life that have made a significant impact. Just like hopefully I have made an impact in yours today. All right, my sweet friend, I'm so excited for all of you to start making your own connections and discovering career opportunities that you didn't even know existed. And by the way, I love hearing your stories. I love when I receive them. Emails from podcast listeners who share how they use some of the tips and strategies that I share with you on this podcast and implement it and then see the rewards and the benefits of it. So if you have something to share with me, any great news or anything that you found. What's useful in your own education and career journey share that with me You can send me an email which I personally respond to and that is info at college career ready dot org You can also find me on linkedin or on instagram, which I will have to say I do spend most of my time on linkedin, and You know, I'm a big, huge advocate of LinkedIn. All right, my sweet friend, that's it for today. And I hope you stay well, you stay present and enjoy the journey. I'll talk to you next week. Thank you for listening in. If you enjoyed this episode, it would mean so much to me if you share it with a friend, a colleague, or your own community. If you share it on social media and tag me, I'll make sure to personally thank you. My two favorite places to hang out are Instagram and LinkedIn. Check out our show notes for a direct link. I'm so thankful for each and every one of you. And as always stay well, be present and enjoy the journey. I'll talk to you next week. Adios.
