In Playing for Others, advisors play a large part in the success and hard work given by each committee. An advisor is an adult member of PFO who lightly guides and helps the committees with their goals and duties. The advisors for PFO 2009-2010 are Catherine Smith, Joseph Henderson, Courtney Blake, Allison Modaferri, Hope Johnston, Christie Kahill, Rachel McAndrews, and Brandy Winn. (Click on each name to visit their page and read their bio)
We’ve asked returning Advisors Catherine Smith (4 years) & Hope Johnston (2 years) an array of questions to answer about their opinions of PFO, the teens involved, and their lives as teenagers. Here’s what they said:
Q: Why do you think it is important for PFO to be multi-dimensional (including learning experiences in both the business and art sides)?
Catherine Smith: For me, helping teens see THE BIG PICTURE is one of the most vital skills PFO provides. I’ve said for years that working in corporate America was an important training ground for me; it taught me a lot about running my own business and what skills I needed to learn. I want our teens to be artists with an understanding of how a business works, so they can foster art from BOTH sides, building a stronger arts community whenever they go.
Hope Johnston: It is stated that current elementary school students will be making up a job force of 90% of jobs that have not even been imagined yet. Of the 21st-century skills employers are looking for, creativity is ranked in the top 5. The arts teach how to use your mind creatively and to think outside the box. The skills one learns while pursuing artistic endeavors are applicable to all jobs. Many of the PFO teens will not pursue the arts as a career but will continue to participate as a volunteer, appreciator or amateur. PFO develops the skills needed to succeed in artistic endeavors AND PFO is building capacity in our next generation of workers by teaching them how businesses operate. The skills they are learning in applying creative problem solving will be an asset to every job they pursue.
Q: What aspect of Playing for Others interests you the most?
Catherine Smith: Servant leadership is the thing I love most about PFO. In giving the best of ourselves, we shine, and that allows others to do the same.
Q: What qualities do you admire in the teens that you know in PFO?
Hope Johnston: Tenacity, optimism, passion, drive, creativity and a deep empathy for others.
Q: What was the hardest part for you about being a Teen?
Catherine Smith: The hardest part about being a teen for me was feeling everything in such an intense way. Every crush, every fight, every emotion was amplified to the highest level. And when you got hurt, you carried that pain around forever…. at least that’s the way it felt. Time really does heal all wounds and it also mellows you in a beautiful way.
Hope Johnston: Oh goodness! What WASN’T the hardest part? For me it was the enormous pressure I put on myself to be perfect. I wanted everything to be “just so.” I felt I had to be the BEST at everything I tried. In many cases I would not try things which I felt that I could not be the best. One of the most freeing things about living a little longer ( although I have never lost my perfectionist bend) is that I feel that I can try anything I want and if it is not “perfect” I am OK with that. There is a certain beauty in the imperfections of life.
Q: What was your most embarrassing moment as a teen?
Hope Johnston: Oh good heavens there are so many to choose from!! Here are 2, one if pretty funny the other… not so much: When I was in 11th grade I was in Algebra II/Trig. My teacher was a woman who only had time for kids who were top mathematicians…and consequently distained me. She took great delight in calling on me to do work in front of the class knowing that I was confused. I spent every day of that class so tense that my back ached and I left with a headache too. Although the entire class was one embarrassing moment after another the one that REALLY stands out to me was the day I actually had the right answer. As usual she called on students to answer questions or to demonstrate problems. When she got to me she asked me if I had “anything I would like to try to contribute.” I gave the right answer… and she said, “Well that’s a first but I guess even idiots can get things right once in a while.” It was so painful and horrifying to me (remember the perfectionist from above?) I tell that story to tell you this: When I was in college I was friends with a Psychology grad student. She had to administer a ton of tests and I loved taking tests so I got to be her guinea pig. Through the process of doing all these tests we determined that I was dyslexic…something that had never shown up in my regular schooling because I was an ace reader. My dyslexia shows up in numbers…and number theory. For years I carried the burden that I was “just an idiot” but during my junior year of college I found out that was not the case…I had a legitimate issue with learning.
Now the funny one: I had a reputation for falling down…a lot. I was on my way out to the busses and somehow I totally missed seeing the large RED truck that was backing up…and I walked headfirst into it… and knocked myself out. Now, the funny part was that I was wearing a skirt…which apparently when I fell it ended up pulled over my head. When I came to I pulled the skirt down and was surrounded by a bunch of boys all staring down at me. OMG; I have yet to live that one down…
Playing for Others is incredibly lucky to have a team of Advisors who are dedicated, enthusiastic role models, that believe in making an impact in the lives of teenagers. If you are interested in serving as an Advisor, or know someone who might, please contact playingforothers@gmail.com.
