While high schools are apt at providing textbook knowledge and academic skills, the rapid pace of societal and technological advancements requires learning rooted in the real world, trial and error and solutionary thinking. This has created a disconnect between traditional education and the demands of the future.

To truly prepare learners for the challenges of the future, high schools must bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and real-world experiences. At 糖心APP, we equip learners with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions they need to confidently navigate the array of different pathways available after graduation. Our curriculum is based on听on the skills needed for the industries of the future, and tools for whole human flourishing. By connecting classroom learning to practical applications, learners gain a deeper understanding of concepts and develop skills to address real challenges.

We know that every learner’s learning journey is different, which is why we prepare our learners for multiple pathways beyond graduation. Our learners benefit from various resources, including micro-internship opportunities and a plethora of professional networking opportunities.

We aim to prepare learners for four key pathways: Traditional Universities, Innovative Universities, Direct to Industry, and Entrepreneurship. We do so by providing weekly sessions, aptly named Pathway Advisory, where we explore the jobs and industries of the future, engage in discussions about the evolving landscape of higher education, and most importantly, uncover the future we want to create for each of our learners.

Additionally, we organize immersive experiences such as our annual听where we connect future-oriented organizations with learners, ensuring they can gain valuable insights and make informed decisions about their future.

Our is different from your typical university fair. It covers a range of post-graduation pathways, including:

Progressive Universities:

Our learners get the inside scoop on how top-tier universities are equipping their students with the skills and knowledge required to thrive in today’s rapidly changing workforce.

Gap Year Possibilities:

Gap-year opportunities allow for personal and professional growth. We provide an array of gap year partners who can support our learners on their journey, whether it’s experience before higher education or transitioning directly into the workforce.

Entrepreneurial Insights:

Many of our learners express the desire to make the world a better place through entrepreneurial pursuits. We provide them with firsthand accounts from trailblazers who chose the entrepreneurial path.

At 糖心APP, we celebrate that each individual is unique in their dreams, passions, and aspirations. We understand that a one-size-fits-all approach to education is outdated. Instead, we are committed to providing personalized journeys for every learner who walks through our doors.

By providing learners with unique, real-world experiences, and catering to their strengths, interests, and goals, we unlock the full potential of each learner. Their journey therefore remains uniquely theirs, and we support them every step of the way.

The post Pathways after high school: Navigating the road to the future first appeared on 糖心APP.

In this emerging landscape, young changemakers need a new medium to communicate their experiences, accomplishments, and projects, in a way that demonstrates the problems they are able to solve.

That鈥檚 where portfolios come in.

What鈥檚 a portfolio?
And why do you need one?

Simply put, portfolios allow anyone to showcase their works, experiences, and projects at a glance. They are often aligned with one鈥檚 personal brand, story, and personality.

One way to think about them is as a three-dimensional resume, where viewers can go beyond the high-level information to see more details and selected projects.

They have multiple use cases and applications, and can be leveraged for university and/or job applications – as well as general networking and thought leadership.

Let鈥檚 look at some examples: 糖心APP learners

There are various sections in a portfolio, and some of the most common ones include:

• Personal bio
• Selected works/projects
• Written works
• Courses/certifications
• Links to Linked In/resumes
• Contact details

Portfolios also give candidates a competitive edge when created well, and can help open up many opportunities.

In all of our programs at 糖心APP, we guide our learners to develop their portfolios and resumes. Here are a few examples of portfolios of some of our learners:

Getting real-world experiences: where to begin?

Oftentimes, high school students reach out to us with frustrations about getting real-world experiences. They are not sure where to begin or what to include in their resumes.

Unfortunately, for many students, their go-to school curriculum lacks internships, apprenticeships, or projects with impact.

That being said, there are many possibilities:

• Participate in volunteering initiatives, or start your own! Reach out to local charities and organizations to see how you can volunteer your time and skills to contribute to society.
• Reach out to your network for internships. Start by reaching out to your parents, friends, and local businesses to identify potential internship or work opportunities.
• Start your own initiative. Passionate about a cause or a global challenge? Start your own initiative (for example, a start-up or club)!
• Participate in programs with real-world learning. Programs like 糖心APP allow learners to develop their skills by having an impact on the world.
• Complete project-based courses. Platforms like CodeAcademy and Coursera are taking courses to the next level by allowing students to work on real-world projects. These are also projects that can be added to your portfolio.

Guiding principles when designing a portfolio

Thinking of creating a portfolio for yourself? Here are a few fundamental principles you want to keep in mind:

• Align it with your personality and personal brand. Be authentic, and be yourself. Your portfolio can reflect your unique story and background, as long as it remains professional.
• It鈥檚 about quality, not quantity. The goal of your portfolio is not to share every single project or experience. But rather the most high-quality, relevant, and sometimes, most recent, works and experiences.
• Keep it up-to-date. Your portfolio is constant work in progress and should be kept up-to-date on a monthly basis.
• Share, share and share. Don鈥檛 be afraid to ask your peers, mentors, and educators for feedback on your portfolio. Above all, there is no point in having an amazing portfolio and not sharing it with the world.

How to design your own portfolio

During all of our programs, learners participate in a range of projects, learner-led solutions to global challenges as well as micro-internships, all of which are opportunities to expand their portfolios.

Here are the steps that we normally guide learners through:

1. Start with the template. is our go-to portfolio template (on Notion). To create your own, click on 鈥淒uplicate鈥� on the top right of the page. Note: you will be prompted to create a Notion account and may need to be familiar with the basics of using Notion.
2. Write your bio. In a few sentences, tells us about yourself, including your passions, interests, accomplishments, and goals.
3. Plan your sections. Decide what key categories or sections you want to have. Examples include 鈥淢y Written Works鈥�, 鈥淪elected Projects鈥� or 鈥淲ork Experience鈥�.
4. Add your selected works. Curate your most quality work and experiences. Add further details on the properties for each, such as links to actual works, and further descriptions.
5. Link your resume and LinkedIn (if you have one). Hyperlink your resume and your LinkedIn if possible.
6. Add your contact details. Make sure you are comfortable with these details being shared publicly.
7. Proofread! Ensure perfect punctuation, grammar, and spelling.

While the steps above are based on a Notion template, please keep in mind that there are lots of other tools, platforms, and mediums that you may choose to work on your portfolio.

Remember, that your portfolio, like you, is a constant work in progress. It will evolve as you evolve.

And above all, it is never too late or too early to start working on your portfolio.

The post How to build a portfolio as a highschooler first appeared on 糖心APP.

Create a Vision Board for Yourself

Vision boards are great to remind you of your personal goals and aspiration during your day-to-day. A number of influential people utilize this tool to visualize their ideal life. These vision boards, also called dream boards or goal boards, can be created by cutting, writing, drawing, or printing out your elements. However, as our eyes are more and more directed toward digital screens, more and more people choose to convey their visions digitally. Canva is a great tool to do so. Simply click create and choose your format – whether it be screen format for your laptop or mobile size to put as your screensaver. Now that you have a blank slate of a document to work with, it’s time to create your vision board. There are several different ways to do this, but this is my personal favorite:

• Firstly, select the right template for your vision board. Canva has many different templates to choose from, including blank templates or templates with lines or grids that help guide where things should go.
• Secondly, import images from your computer or directly from the internet (you can find useful resources and ). Use images that really resonate with you and your goals: what are the things you wish to see in your future life?
• Thirdly, add text to reflect your goals and motivations for doing whatever it is that you want to do; this might be anything from “I want more money” to “I want to change the world”. The sky is really the limit here – all of these will define your personal brand, so make use of the resourceful images, elements, and videos to really bring your vision to life!
  
  Here鈥檚 a great wishing to focus on her academic success.

Lastly, share this vision board with friends and family so that they can provide feedback on what could make it even more effective–and set it as wallpaper on your electronics so every day when you glance at your phone or laptop, you will remember how awesome life will be once everything comes together!

Create a Mood Board

Mood boards are different from vision boards in their purpose: while vision boards define your goals and ambitions, mood boards set the tone for your upcoming personal brand. Mood boards are a great way to make sure your branding is consistent across all of your marketing materials. They can also be used as a visual representation of your brand, and make it easy for you to keep track of things like logo colors and fonts. The goal of making a mood board is to create a personation of who you are: your personality, your hobbies, interests, and things that you care about and are passionate about exploring. To create a mood board in Canva: 听

• Click on the “Mood Boards” icon at the top left corner of the page. Then, click “Create.鈥�
• Choose an image from their library or upload one yourself. If you’re using an image from their library, make sure to select “Image” as its type in the right-hand column; otherwise, you’ll have to add it manually by clicking 鈥淯pload鈥� and 鈥淪elect your own image鈥�. When adding an image of the internet, you can always copy that image (right-click and then 鈥楥opy image鈥� or 鈥楥opy鈥�) and paste it into the canvas – this will automatically upload your image.
• Add text wherever possible – this will help you understand yourself! For example: “I love my cat.” Or maybe even something more specific like, “I am kind to everyone who cares about animals because we share a similar love”. This will help you dive deep into your personality.

Here鈥檚 a great example of a mood board! Created by

听

Create a Logo and Brand Elements Using Canva’s Templates

By now, you should鈥檝e gotten a lot of information from your mood board that can help you define your . The next step is to create a logo and brand elements by utilizing Canva’s templates, which are free and easy to use. You can decide whether you want to create a text-based or image-based logo. If you choose an image, make sure that it’s clear enough so that people who see your profile will be able to read it. For example, if the word “design” is part of your business name or description and you want it in your logo, try using a font like Helvetica so that people can easily decipher what the letters mean. Make sure to use consistent fonts across all your communication. Luckily, Canva comes with pre-defined font pairings that you can choose from, or if none are really speaking to you, you can use this incredible . You must also have a consistent color scheme across all of your branding materials so that everything looks professional. Again, your mood board or even your favorite color can serve as an inspiration. Here鈥檚 an example of the amazing final product:

A fantastic product of great typography and color scheme from the mood board example above! Follow and support her work. Are you ready to share your personal brand with the world and use your unique set of skills to better the world? Check out part two to learn how to use Canva to create compelling communication material.

The post How to: utilize Canva to build your own personal brand Pt. 1 first appeared on 糖心APP.

Create a CV.

• • In the home page, search for听Resume听and select one of the templates that truly match your mood board鈥檚 values. Do not worry about colors and fonts – you will be able to change this later. If you have extensive experience which you are willing to share, make sure that your template offers a few pages that can hold all of your info.
  • Next, upload your photo and add your information and fill out your CV. Canva has an amazing feature where you can add templates even once you started designing, so if the current selection doesn鈥檛 make the cut anymore, feel free to shift to a different template found under the Templates card.

The post How to: utilize Canva to build your own personal brand Pt. 2 first appeared on 糖心APP.