Solving the "I don't know what I want to do" problem for junior high and high school students. Solution through self-analysis and mentoring Recruitment of participants for career design support project

Grow & Leap, a non-profit organization (located in Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture; Representative Director: Kayoko Kurata), is implementing the "My Story Project" to support middle and high school students in designing their own unique careers. We are pleased to announce that we are now accepting entries from junior high and high school students nationwide for the fourth term of the project, which will run from July 2024 to March 2025.

Recruitment of students for the fourth term of the "My Story Project

One out of three students says, "I don't know what I want to do.

　The initiative is born from knowing what you want to do.

The present age is said to be one of high uncertainty and rapid change, with technological innovations such as the development of AI, the spread of pandemic new coronaviruses, and dizzying changes in the international situation. Innovation is also strongly demanded in solving various social issues and in economic growth. We believe that what is required of children who will live in such an era is a proactive attitude and stance to think, choose, and act on their own.

However, it is not the case that a proactive person can be proactive in any environment. Rather, people who are proactive anywhere and at any time are rare; they are proactive in what they want to do.

On the other hand, about one in three junior and senior high school students feel that they "can't find or don't know what they want to do" (*1).  To address this situation, it is necessary to carefully confront each student individually, but there are limits to what schools and families can do on their own.

*1: Recruit Institute for Advanced Study (2023) 11th Survey on Attitudes of High School Students and Their Parents Toward Their Career Paths 2023

https://souken.shingakunet.com/research/.assets/2023_hogosha3.pdf

My Story Project is an inquiry-based project that solves the "I don't know what I want to do" problem.

My Story Project is a project that aims to work with junior and senior high school students who are struggling with "I don't know what I want to do" to create "a career design that makes me and others (society) happy and is unique to me" through self-exploration and social exploration. The project will be held from late July 2024 to late March 2025 for students from the first year of junior high school to the third year of high school, providing opportunities to (1) learn about oneself, (2) learn about society, and (3) cultivate humanity through 24 individual mentoring sessions of 90 minutes each and various projects.

The four features of the project are

1) Emphasis on career anchors based on one's "thoughts and sensibilities

The most distinctive feature of this project is the ability to find a career anchor, an axis for one's way of life. Junior high and high school students, together with their mentors, carefully reflect on their past and their strengths, and discover the values and thoughts they want to cherish, which are expressed in their thoughts and sensitivities.

We believe that when middle and high school students learn about their career anchors, from an individual perspective, they will learn where they can fully demonstrate their abilities and how to live their lives, leading to a better life, and from a societal perspective, it will lead to a better society and future by placing the right people in the right places.

Presentation about your career

2. one-on-one mentoring and deep self-understanding

This project is based on one-on-one mentoring by high quality mentors who have gone through training and screening. The mentors will work at the pace of each junior and senior high school student, taking the time to face themselves and deepen their self-acceptance and self-understanding.

More than 80% of the junior and senior high school students selected "self-analysis" as a particularly positive aspect of the project, and many said, "By reflecting on myself, I learned what makes me the person I am today (high school sophomore, female).

Dialogue on the theme of "myself

(3) Rich connections with university students and working adults

In addition to one-on-one mentoring, this project provides many opportunities to interact with university students and working adults. We also provide opportunities for junior and senior high school students to plan and discuss events from scratch based on their own themes.

For junior high and high school students, who rarely have opportunities to interact with adults other than their teachers at school or cram school and their parents, the program provides an opportunity to broaden their perspectives and increase their confidence.

Entrepreneurs and experts warmly welcoming junior high and high school students (1)

University students giving encouragement to junior high and high school students

4. three human qualities that depict one's unique career design

This project also aims to cultivate the "independence, practicality, and co-creation skills" necessary for junior and senior high school students to draw their own unique career design and realize it, viewing their junior and senior high school years as a "preparatory period for becoming entrepreneurs of their own lives. The program encourages participants to work together with junior and senior high school students to perform PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) cycles, to have a sense of self in relation to things, and to think logically and empathetically from multiple perspectives.

[Target Audience.

25 students, from 1st year junior high school students to 3rd year high school students from all over Japan, who want to think about themselves and their future.

*For details on eligibility requirements, please see the application guidelines.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yuM1SDNHQD5UsX8bsu3HrAIZ4uRO3tZI/view?usp=sharing

■How to Apply

Since this is a mid- to long-term project, we ask that you first attend an information session.

To confirm the schedule and participate in the briefing session, please use the official LINE below.

■Official LINE

https://lin.ee/3T2GJxX

Primary Entry: Saturday, June 1, 2024 - Friday, June 14, 2024

Secondary Entry: Saturday, June 22, 2024 - Friday, July 5, 2024

*Final entry period may be available.

[Supporters/Collaborators

This project is funded by donations from working people, university students, parents, and companies for the following reasons: (1) to enable society as a whole to support middle and high school students in designing their own careers, and (2) to ensure that potential middle and high school students do not lose the opportunity to envision their future because of their families' economic circumstances. The program is made possible by donations from adults, university students, parents, and companies.

In addition to donations, the program is also carried out with the support and cooperation of working adults, university students, and companies in a variety of ways as GL Junior and Senior High School Student Supporters. If you are interested in becoming a supporter, please contact us anytime.

Official line: https://lin.ee/3T2GJxX

Outline of the organization

Grow & Leap, a non-profit organization, creates a future that exceeds ideals, where mutual "individuality" becomes one, through supporting middle and high school students who will lead the next generation to design their own unique careers. To date, we have conducted more than 1,000 interviews with middle and high school students and created opportunities for more than 2,000 event participants to experience each other's values.

For more information, please visit our official website ( https://growandleap.com/ ).

Name : Grow & Leap, a non-profit organization

Representative: Kayoko Kurata, President

Location: 1-7-30 Izumi, Higashi-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 461-0001, Japan

　　　　　　　　　　　 302, Duo Veil Hisayaodori, 1-7-30 Izumi, Higashi-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 461-0001, Japan

Establishment : April 2018 (incorporated in May 2021)

Business : Career support for junior high and high school students

URL ： https://growandleap.com/ (Website)

　　　　　 https://www.instagram.com/growandleap (Instagram)