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Katie Hearn Zang
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This issue we feature Katie Hearn Zang, WorkFirst
Instructor for Renton Technical College. Katie attended
the 5-Day DS Instructor Training last March 2004.
Katie, now that you have completed
the 5 day DS workshop, what are the different ways you
plan to use or are using DS?
My co-workers Amy O'Donnel and
Ha Nguyen and DS trainer Penny Rempfer, whom I met during
the March training, and myself, revised the workshop
to 9 hours
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we go through steps #2-31, more or less, and
then include the Job Magnet Explanation and discussion.
For the most part the workshop is delivered at the start
of a particular program, however, on some occasions
we deliver it at mid-point in a program.
In the Fall, I delivered it to a group
of ESL students ranging from level 2 to level 4. We
did use interpreters for the first day and did not include
the report in that session.
On a personal note, I did a
quick 4 hour workshop (steps 1-17) with nieces and nephews
(5 total) who were either in college or graduating from
high school this year. It was quite an intimate experience
in some respects and provided me with a new window into
each of them. They were very pleased with their results.
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Who would your
customers be and what would the value(s) of DS be for your
customers?
Our primary customers are Renton Technical
College students who are in the WorkFirst program through
Employment Security. Generally, they are parents who are currently
receiving public assistance and are enrolled in employment
training programs. Examples are: office assistant receptionist,
jobs skills for trade and industry and property maintenance.
Last year, we also delivered workshops at the Kent WorkFirst
office to individuals seeking direct employment and will continue
that in :05 with the Kent and Renton WorkFirst offices. Starting
in February we will partner with Ikea to run a retail skills
training program and will provide the DS workshop in the beginning
of the training.
During the 5-day DS workshop, when
did you feel most intellectually and emotionally challenged?
Intellectually, I was challenged most
during the train-the-trainer portion of the workshop. It was
interesting to have ideas and "techniques" for training
brought to light and to understand more clearly the design
of the workshop. I was struck a number of times by the detail
and thoughtfulness given to each step of the process. I found
the workshop to be more emotionally invigorating than challenging,
yet if I had to choose a challenging step it would have to
be the Job Magnet process.
Which aspects of DS resonated with
you the most and why?
I believe the most significant aspect of
the process is the focus on "what is right" about
a person rather than what is wrong or what issue or barrier
needs to be addressed. For a person to have a clear sense
of the strengths they can offer and an ability to articulate
those strengths is not only a distinct advantage as a job
seeker, but more importantly, leads to clarity in terms of
how to live and be in the world. It has always been important
to me to not only teach skills to "find a job" but
to teach skills that influence all aspects of our lives. I
believe this is a process that can have a major impact on
a person's "whole" life!
(On a parting note), Is there anything
else that you would like to share about what DS means to you,
and may mean to a potential customer?
I feel fortunate to say that I have witnessed
transformations in people in just a few short days; and it
is a true delight to be a part of a process that awakens "the
life" in people that have been in the shadows of their
"barriers" and problems.
I have been teaching job and life
skill classes for a number of years and have engaged in much
training, The Dependable Strengths Articulation process and
training stands out and has changed the shape of my curriculum
and how I facilitate. Thank You!
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