RISE Students Build Confidence By Preparing for a Cold Call Event
Sometimes a cold call is just a cold call. Other times it’s so much more and the leaders at Da Vinci RISE High turned the idea of a cold call into a full-blown project-based learning experience for students that culminated into the first annual experiential Cold Calling event on November 1st & 2nd.
The goal was simple: Help students to develop the foundational skills that are necessary to call around for internships, or request to shadow professionals in industries they’re interested in.
To accomplish this, RISE partnered with Big Picture Schools to help students to develop the skills that would be required to overcome limiting beliefs, build rapport, ask the right questions, develop phone etiquette skills, talk about themselves and their own skills/capabilities, and learn how to ask for an opportunity.
There were 108 working professionals from various fields who signed up to be the person on the other end of the line for the students to call and navigate these learning moments in a professional, emotionally safe, and encouraging way. The professionals who volunteered were from various industries, including lawyers, doctors, financial advisors, entrepreneurs, and more.
In the eight weeks leading up to the two-day event, students worked with their advisory groups and one-on-one with their advisor to prepare for the event by coming up with a list of meaningful questions they’d like to ask, preparing brag sheets about themselves, and writing scripts they could use to navigate conversations with strangers.
“When we first started the event, there were so many students who felt hesitant and afraid,” said Naomi Lara, the principal at Da Vinci RISE. “For some students, rejection is a big fear. And we’ve learned that often the fear of rejection can stop students from ever taking the steps required to get a “yes”. So we wanted to help them shift that pattern and mindset, and we wanted to do it in a way that would allow them to grow, and be safe to fail. And we accomplished just that.”
Almost 100 students took part in the Cold Calling event with each student making multiple calls. Teachers and staff watched in amazement as many students went from afraid to start, to comfortable to continue, to confident to go again and call the next person on the list.
We are so grateful to all the volunteers, teachers, and staff who made this event possible. We are grateful to Big Picture Schools for the guidance and partnership.
And we are so grateful to all of our amazing students who took part in stretching their comfort zone and watching themselves succeed. We are so proud of all of you!
