On Friday, April 10^th, while the rest of the Senior School was having yet another relaxing casual day, grade 11 students were in their uniforms for their annual Georgian Careers Day.

This extremely eventful day started off with a presentation in the Theatre by former Saints parent Mr. Peter Wilken. An ex advertising executive, Mr. Wilken imparted his own personal wisdom upon the Class of 2016, and relayed some of the lessons he learned while travelling the globe as an “Ad-man”.

After break and the weekly Friday full school assembly, the grade 11’s filed back into the auditorium for a short send-off speech from Mr. Lee. Everyone then quickly dispersed and went off to the various classrooms around the school in which the presentations were held.

The list of speakers for the 2015 incarnation of Careers Day was nothing short of astonishing. Out of the 13 professionals presenting, 9 of them were graduates of the school, or Georgians, as they are generally known. The industry leaders at Careers Day ranged as far as you could possibly imagine. From Financial Advisors to Lawyers, and Ophthalmologists to Art Therapists, the group assembled truly was one worth listening to. As Grade 11 student Sebastian Steven told The Creed in an exclusive telephone interview, “I thought it was great to see what’s out there for options, and that every different job has an influence in how the world goes.”

This year, along with expected elements of careers day like a broad, intriguing range of guest speakers, there was also an overarching theme. This theme, Mindfulness, was present in all of the presentations. However, the theme was most present after lunch break, when Keynote Speaker Dr. Geoffrey Soloway spoke.

Dr. Soloway, a founding partner at Mindwell Canada, holds a PhD in Mindfulness, and has been promoting health, mindfulness, and wellbeing as his profession for the past 12 years. As part of his speech, Dr. Soloway led the grade in a 10 minute long mindfulness meditation session to finish off their school day. In this session, all of the students spread across the theatre to isolate themselves, and Dr. Soloway spoke to the boys about mindful ideals such as “looking inward” and “being present”. On the topic of mindfulness, Mr. Lee, the man responsible for Careers Day told us, “[Mindfulness] is not something a lot of kids think about when they focus on preparing for their future or what’s important. They usually think about their competencies in certain areas, or their work ethic. But an important part that we often forget about is that if we don’t take care of ourselves, then we’re not going to be effective in doing anything.” This philosophy was intertwined throughout what was a thoroughly enjoyable day for all who were lucky enough to be a part of it.