This past Saturday, D2 Center students and YANs participated in an improv workshop facilitated by improv actor Will Meinen. The focus of the session was to discover new ways to communicate, explore strengths, and build confidence. After establishing the day’s ground rules (don’t judge, don’t criticize, be positive, etc.) and the principles of improv, everyone dove into exercises including two person conversations, monologues, and “panel of experts.”
This event was part of the D2 Center Careers & Community Engagement program, which offers various hands-on career exploration activities in the community, one-on-one instruction on job skills and self awareness, plus the opportunity to bank hours towards an elective credit. Students’ post-activity essays highlighted the confidence-building theme of the event. Here are just a few quotes:
— “I liked it because you learn how to be confident with yourself in front of people.” -Roberto
–“It helped because we talked about when we go to work appointments and to be confident that we are good people.” –Fanny
–“Learned new things…work as a team and learn how to have conversations with people you don’t know.” –Julian
–“It helped me on my confidence and how to improve it.” –José
–“This event helped me associate (and communicate) with people in general…which I don’t do very often. It made me feel confident about myself and what I really like to do.” -Isaac
Huge thanks to Will Meinen for this cool opportunity! See more photos from the event on our D2 Center Students Facebook page.
Cathy and Eleni perform while Will, Roberto and Jose observe
Fanny and Will work on a scene