Nothing short of a hero.

 
newsletter-header-1.jpg

Newsletter Volume 9

Aloha 🌸,

I recently spent some time on the beautiful island of Kauai. I grew up there as a small child and it was a calming feeling to finally come back home. When I wasn’t in the water, I had some downtime to reflect on this school year. The Hawaiian word for finished is “pau” (pronounced “pow”) and the one-syllable sharpness of the word always empowered me as I child when I shouted it to my mother when I was “all pau” with my food or whatever else I was doing.

As the school year comes to “pau,” I want to express my sincere gratitude to everyone who has worked so hard throughout the school year to support students, parents, and their community. Every single educator went above and beyond. I can’t even begin to comprehend what would’ve happened if educators only worked their contractual hours and duties, and only used the resources their school provided. As a result, many educators carried high levels of anxiety and stress every day. My social feeds were full of educators experiencing panic attacks and expressing doubt if they wanted to continue teaching. I attempted to comfort any educator I came across by telling them “Remember, you are doing the best you possibly can” and I reminded them that it wasn’t selfish for them to take care of themselves with whatever type of self care that fuels them.

One thing is for sure, we had the most challenging school year of our existence and educators emerged as some of the most selfless and dedicated people I have ever encountered. If you haven’t yet, please reach out to an educator and thank them for ALL of their work this school year (and if you’re out of ideas on how to thank them, we crafted a helpful gift guide to spark some ideas).

If you’re an educator reading this, I want you to know that you have been nothing short of a hero this last year. Please take whatever time you can If you’re a brand that works with educators, I hope you continue to think of ways to support educators first and foremost now and throughout the upcoming school year.

And congrats to all of the grads of 2021 (we’ve crafted a fun graduation themed bonus at the end of this issue),

Mahalo,
​

 

PS: “Pau hana” is an informal Hawaiian phrase that celebrates work being finished and on the islands, you can see many at happy hours celebrating. Educators deserve a huge “pau hana” and when you come across an educator celebrating the end of the school year, do not assume that they hate teaching. Remember that they have just successfully navigated one of the most difficult things of their life. Make sure to celebrate with them (and never criticize them).

Educators are finishing the most challenging school year of their lives. Do you know what you’re doing to appreciate educators at the end of the school year? Our guide includes gift Ideas for every budget, non-monetary gift ideas, logistics and planning resources, and more.

 

The sun is out, and summer is almost on its way! Use any upcoming downtime you may have to tidy up your social media channels. This free checklist includes helpful tips on security, updating your profiles, cleaning up who you learn from, and so much more.

 
 
 

Since graduation is in the air, I’ve been thinking about my graduation from undergraduate college (Go Cal Poly Mustangs!). Specifically, I’ve been thinking about how little advice and support we receive to navigate this huge milestone. As a first-generation college student, I needed more support than ever and the advice I got was a joke or two posed as advice. What's worse is that my community, who a majority of them didn’t go to college, tended to give me what I called anti-advice. The best anti-advice I got was from my old friend Vladimir, who ran a Czech restaurant I used to frequent. He would say to me as he poured a big pint of Spaten for me, â€śElana, you’ll die at a desk. Don’t get a full-time job.”

Fast forward almost 20 years later (please don’t do the math on my age :) ), and the level of support has not increased for our new grads. What breaks my heart even more is that those that suffer the most from this lack of support are the students that lack the opportunity and access to help them succeed after they graduate. I personally came VERY close to devoting my career to hospitality since the corporate world was just too intimidating for me. All of these reasons have fueled me to make sure wherever I work that I create internship programs that help undergraduates get the experience and confidence they need to forge their own path after graduation. Note: We just hired our summer intern (welcome Jordan Moldenhauer!) but we’ll be hiring for a fall internship soon.)

As a fun bonus, I also asked the LCG community of clients, team members, and partners to see what was the most funniest or memorable advice they received when they graduated. Share the advice you received with us.

  1. “Do not compare your path to those of others!” - Ariella Hayden, LCG Spring Intern who just graduated from San Diego State University!

  2. “Even if you think you don't like college, try it for a year.” - Alan Lipton, Blog Production Manager, LCG

  3. "The salary from your first 2 jobs has very little correlation with your lifetime earnings, but the habits you learn have a strong correlation. Choose a job based on your potential to grow and learn, not the salary or prestige. There's plenty of time for that." - Rebecca Sadwick, Strategica Partners​

  4. “When you’re in college you’re surrounded by the most driven, smart, and curious minds. Your professors are the best in their field, so if you’re thinking of investing in the stock market- talk to your Econ professor and learn- they are the best advisors you’ll ever get.” - Salleha Chaudry, Facebook, Education Modernization Team

  5. “You need to become best friends with the secretary and the janitor. They are the ones that hold the power.” - Meredith Allen, Soundtrap Edu by Spotify​

  6. "Never go to your boss with a problem unless you’ve thought three possible solutions and can make a recommendation for fixing the problem. Solve problems, don’t be one." - Daylene Long, Catapult X​

Don't forget this epic video: Wear sunscreen. :)