CUSP: November Update

The importance of professionalism in perparing and presenting proposals.

The CUSP class has been busy learning more about preparing professional proposals. On October 31st, we had the opportunity to learn more about the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and how to make documents AODA compliant. Dana Lavoie, who is an Employment Equity and AODA officer from the Laurier Diversity and Equity Office, presented a workshop and helped the students to make a word document accessible for everyone. The students’ proposals (electronic documents) should be organized in a format that is accessible for people with disabilities to facilitate inclusiveness. This is required by the City of Cambridge. As this is an important skill, the students can also include it in their CVs!

Later in the same class, we had another workshop that taught the students more about professional development and communication. Our guest speakers, Scott Keller and Tyler Van Herzele, from the Laurier Community and Workplace Partnership Office, talked about the importance of being professional in front of an audience. Since the students’ presentations are due soon, this workshop was important for the students to consider good communication skills and other useful tools to use for their projects. They also gave the students valuable lessons about recording their experiences in the course to use for future job opportunities.

The next class was another workshop regarding professionalism. We were fortunate enough to have Andrew (Jake) Westerveld to talk about designing professional presentations and proposals. As a former CUSP student and a part of last year’s winning team, Jake had lots to teach the students. It was inspiring for them to hear from a former CUSP student who is now employed in a professional setting. Designing effective presentations and proposals are not as easy as it looks! Jake showed the class different ways to make a good impression in front of the representatives of the City of Cambridge. For example, they should present slides with a few words on it, use appropriate fonts and colors, and include relevant pictures.

To conclude that class, Monica Romero, Teaching Assistant for the CUSP course, presented a workshop on how to be a good presenter. The workshop included some basic recommendations to effectively speak in front of an audience. Although some of this had been previously taught to the students, this talk served to remind them of the importance of including them in their presentations at the end of the term. During the workshop, we talked about the structure of a good presentation, use of visual aids, the importance of body language, and how to handle questions from the audience. They are more prepared now to give an informative and persuasive speech!