Students impressed with JPS Foundation’s mentorship programme

Aiming to empower the next generation through a year-long mentorship programme, the JPS Foundation recently hosted a face-to-face session for seven tertiary students to equip them with practical professional insights.

For Antonio Spence – first-year student at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona – there was much to absorb from the multi-faceted agenda that he credited as being impactful.

“I found the experience to be positively rewarding, and very engaging. I was able to commune with many individuals who would’ve completed the university experience and could impart real-life knowledge,” assessed the 22-year-old microbiology major.

The day’s three-hour-long programme, held at the Jamaica Public Service’s (JPS) corporate headquarters, featured breakout sessions on career planning, goal setting, and strength-finding exercises. In attendance were students from UWI, the University of Technology (UTech), Mico University College, and Church Teachers’ College.

Of interest to Spence was the themed segment on ‘Preparing a Budget’ led by JPS Foundation Head, Sophia Lewis.

“She demonstrated the importance of saving and developing disciplined spending habits,” shared Spence, a Frome Technical High School graduate whose collegiate extracurricular activities include membership to the UWI America Society of Microbiology and the Biology Students’ Association.

“I learnt to take advantage of different financial institutions when saving, and to hold myself accountable for my funds and expenses. A tip for saving smart was to save via investing in the stock market.”

‘GREAT IMPACT’

Also appreciative of being on the invite list was Leonie Harris, a mathematics student in her freshman year at Mico.

“I enjoyed every moment of the mentorship workshop. It was great meeting the volunteers and listening to their words of encouragement,” she raved of her Friday spent diving into lessons on career and personal development.

“The workshop made a great impact on me as I was able to find a mentor who I had many things in common with,” added 19-year-old Harris, an alum of Merl Grove and St Mary high schools, the latter where she completed sixth form.

“I informed my mentor of some issues I struggle with in school and she provided guidance in helping me to set SMART goals. This programme gave me the opportunity to have someone who will help me stay on track and provide the necessary guidance for me to succeed in school and life.”

Shanique Donaldson-McIntosh, JPS’s Area manager for customer experience, was Harris’ assigned mentor.

The partnership came after an icebreaker exercise where the students and select JPS staff fielded questions that revealed their personality types. This was followed by speed-rounds of three-minute sessions wherein the prospective mentors and mentees engaged in revolving one-on-one repartees, from which the students culled their mentor shortlist.

Registering to be part of her company’s Volunteers On Location to Serve (VOLTS) programme, and by extension, the twelve-month mentorship exercise, Donaldson-McIntosh explained: “I believe that based on my own journey and experiences I can have a positive impact on the life of someone else.”

With her mentee Leonie, the JPS manager said she is looking “to create a mentorship relationship that is supportive where she [Harris] feels comfortable asking for advice, sharing her challenges and aspirations. I want to be her sounding board, someone who listens, provides open and honest feedback and encouragement. I too hope to gain from this programme as I learn from Leonie’s unique perspective and fresh approach.”

MEANINGFUL SESSION

Much like her colleague, Tania McDonald-Tomlinson, Director of People Operations and Special Projects at JPS, saw high value in the interface between the power company’s mentors and the blossoming set poised to enter the workforce soon.

“The session seemed to have been very meaningful for the participants. There was a wealth of information that the students could learn from,” shared McDonald-Tomlinson, who led a segment on career planning and job interview preparation.

“As a mentor [she was eventually paired with UTech engineering student, Ackeem Grant], I appreciated the opportunity to have a short one-on-one with the students. I loved their individuality and enjoyed the quick but interesting conversations with each of them.”

Calling it a wrap on the day’s workshop, participants were then afforded a field trip to the Systems Control department at JPS.

Bused from the New Kingston headquarters, the party of seven was given a guided tour at the facility, from rare front-row access to the island’s power management grid.

Detailing the purpose of the site visit, JPS System Control engineer, Donovan Wint, gave a thorough breakdown of the mechanics of how things worked on his end.

“It was educating the students about the entire operations of the power grid, highlighting specific areas of how power is routed through transmission and distribution lines,” said Wint, a 24-year veteran at the energy company.

For JPS Chairman, Damian Obiglio, the mentorship programme, which the foundation launched last year, is a most worthwhile undertaking in several respects. The initiative forms part of a framework for two projects: the Power Up Scholarship Programme and the Power Up Community Action.

Speaking to the direct benefits of the workshop for the participants, Obiglio said: “Seeing what people have done in life, and being able to see the positions they are in, is very important, as it puts a goal post of where others can get to.”

The chairman rationalised that for JPS, “as a company and as employees, we need to have a look at what young people think and how they face their realities. There is a generational change and the generation that is going to be in the job market in the next two years is going to be very different than what was there five years before.”

He added, “I think there is also going to be a big change in expectations of work and the way they see the world, with the inception of artificial intelligence. So for us as a company, we need to know what the young minds are thinking and what their aspirations are.”

Reflecting on the mentorship exercise she initiated, JPS Foundation Head Sophia Lewis was pleased with the outcome for the participants.

“They were evidently inspired and kept asking questions,” she noted.

“One scholar commented that he appreciated seeing how what he was studying in electrical engineering, was being applied in the real world when he visited our system control location. It is important that the relationship with our scholars go deeper than assisting with funds for their tuition. We are fully committed to their holistic development.”

Lewis disclosed that the foundation will focus on a raft of projects in the coming months. Among them are the Power Up Energy Club Debate Competition Finals for high school students slated for mid-March; the Power Up Scholarships in June; the Climate Action Conference in October; and a Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exam fee grant for electrical technology students in December.