“We’re so close to greatness. I can feel it!” ~ Cliff, Citizen Schools Teaching Fellow working with Innovation Station
Last week at my training session for Citizen Schools, Cliff, the Teaching Fellow who will be with me every step of the way in the classroom, let this quote fly as we talked through ideas for the apprenticeship that begins next week. The apprenticeship, Innovation Station, is going to help students build their own prototypes and models of products and services that they would like to turn into businesses. On Tuesday, students at M.S. 45 will have the chance to attend an apprenticeship fair where I’ll be giving an elevator pitch on the subject of the apprenticeship and what we’ll do during the ten weeks that we’re together.
Originally, I thought I’d run a brainstorming session. Cliff looked at me, kindly, and said, “I think that’s going to get really out of control really fast. Let’s hold off on that idea. All the content is here – we know what the apprenticeship is about and the ultimate goal. We’re so close to greatness. I can feel it! We just have to figure out how to get and keep their attention.”
Cliff’s enthusiasm for the subject and for the kids helped me see that there was a better way forward. I could communicate the same content as originally planned, but there are so many other interactive avenues to get the kids interested than I first thought. Infomercials, celebrity examples, new uses for every day items, the element of the strange and unknown as a catalyst for curiosity. Cliff’s got a million tricks up his sleeves. More importantly, he believes in the idea as much as I do, and he can quickly get inside the minds of these kids. He knows what piques their interest.
What I needed was that extra push, that extra encouragement to knock down any perceived boundaries to what we could accomplish. As Cliff and I talked it out, we began to discover so many new ideas that we could barely keep track of them all on the paper. And the real beauty, is that the ideas were spontaneous. Neither of us had even considered them before sitting down to talk about the apprenticeship fair. Like little pings of inspiration, I could feel their magic falling down all around us.
We just needed to up our game a little – that’s what the prospect of a middle school student’s critique will do for us. It pushes us to go that extra bit. They don’t just want an apprenticeship that’s decent; they want one that makes them run to the session every week, one that makes them believe that they really do have hope for a brighter future and the ability to make it happen. They want greatness in action, and I mean to create that for them.
The image above is not my own. It can be found here.
Published by Christa Avampato
The short of it:
Writer. Health, education, and art advocate. Theater and film producer. Visual artist. Product geek. Proud alumnae of the University of Pennsylvania (BA) and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA). Inspired by ancient wisdom & modern tech. Proliferator of goodness. Opener of doors. Friend to animals. Fan of creative work in all its wondrous forms. I use my business skills to create passion projects that build a better world. I’ve been called the happiest New Yorker, and I try hard to live up to that title every day.
The long of it:
My career has stretched across Capitol Hill, Broadway theatre, education, nonprofit fundraising, health and wellness, and Fortune 500 companies in retail, media, entertainment, technology, and financial services. I’ve been a product developer and product manager, theater manager, strategic consultant, marketer, voice over artist, , teacher, and fundraiser. I use my business and storytelling to support and sustain passion projects that build a better world. In every experience, I’ve used my sense of and respect for elegant design to develop meaningful products, services, programs, and events.
While building a business career, I also built a strong portfolio as a journalist, novelist, freelance writer, interviewer, presenter, and public speaker. My writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, PBS.org, Boston.com, Royal Media Partners publications, and The Motley Fool on a wide range of topics including business, technology, science, health, education, culture, and lifestyle. I have also been an invited speaker at SXSW, Teach for America, Avon headquarters, Games for Change, NYU, Columbia University, Hunter College, and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. The first book in my young adult book series, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, was acquired by a publisher and launched in November 2017. I’m currently working on the second book in the series.
A recovering multi-tasker, I’m equally at home in front of my Mac, on my yoga mat, walking my rescue dog, Phineas, traveling with a purpose, or practicing the high-art of people watching. I also cut up small bits of paper and put them back together as a collage artist.
My company:
I’m bringing together all of my business and creative career paths as the Founder of Double or Nothing Media:
• I craft products, programs, and projects that make a difference;
• I build the business plans that make what I craft financially sustainable;
• I tell the stories that matter about the people, places, and products that inspire me.
Follow my adventures on Twitter at https://twitter.com/christanyc and Instagram at https://instagram.com/christarosenyc.
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“We’re so close to greatness. I can feel it!” ~ Cliff, Citizen Schools Teaching Fellow working with Innovation Station
Christa Avampato 
