Last week, a group of YouthWorks mentors came together to play a new game — Mission Possible. The game provided a fun way for mentors to share strategies in supporting youth interns in exploring and preparing for future careers. The “mission” of exposing youth to careers is not only possible, but essential. Most young people know very little about the diversity of career possibilities, and can greatly benefit from positive opportunities to explore options before deciding on post-high school plans.
Mentors were split into 4 teams for the game. Each round, the teams got a question about developing career readiness and awareness. After each question, all teams raced to come up with a good answer. At the time limit, all teams’ answers were scored by a group of judges which included a youth, an experienced mentor, and an employment coordinator. Each round, the mentor teams provided thoughtful and creative answers to the questions, and the competition was very close. By the end of the game, everyone had a chance to contribute to their team’s thinking and to learn from other teams.
Our mentors’ response to the game was very positive. When asked what they liked about the session, mentors had the following to say:
“I like that it is an interactive way to allow people to share their ideas and perspectives.”
“Awesome game! Why? Because the questions were great and the gameboard / theme was fun!”
“Created opportunities to develop bonds / support system between mentors.”
Pictured: 1) Our game board 2) Mentors deep in conversation 3) The Blue team shares an answer 4) Mission Impossible panel of judges.