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Community Comment: The three most hated words – back to school

Just like that, summer is almost over. I guess it seemed to go by quickly because the sun didn’t come out until the middle of July, but here we are, just over a week before the kids head back to school.
Back to school collage
I guess it seemed to go by quickly because the sun didn’t come out until the middle of July, but here we are, just over a week before the kids head back to school.

Just like that, summer is almost over.

I guess it seemed to go by quickly because the sun didn’t come out until the middle of July, but here we are, just over a week before the kids head back to school.

It’s weird – even though I haven’t been in school for a long time, I still dream about it. Not being able to find the classroom, or worse, the realization that I have an exam, but haven’t attended any classes.

I wasn’t the best student. I did okay, managed to get myself into post-secondary school and built a decent career from there. But I would have never thought of where I would be today when I was back in high school.

I took the programs that tried to pick your career. According to them, I should have been a tax accountant. Knowing what I know now, that would have been a bad move. Not that there’s anything wrong with that career, it just doesn’t suit my personality type.

Throughout my life, I’ve had people tell me I wouldn’t succeed. I worked in a gas station when I was in high school. The owner said he didn’t think I was the kind of person who would go to university. When I was headed to BCIT, the Associate Dean said looking at my grades, I probably wouldn’t do well there. When I wanted to get my MBA, my boss said I couldn’t, because I didn’t have a degree.

All I can say to them is, ‘well, you were wrong’. I went to university, I was the president of the marketing club at BCIT, and I got my MBA with a 3.65 GPA. Thanks for the motivation.

And now I teach marketing to MBA students. Never saw that happening when I was a teenager.

For those heading back to school in a few days, just remember – the job you will likely have in 10 years hasn’t been created yet. Don’t worry about what you’ll do in life, because it will probably change. And there’s nothing wrong with learning a trade instead of going to university.

Most importantly, don’t let anyone set limits for you. Including yourself.

Brad Sherwin, MBA is a long-time resident of South Delta, and has more than 30 years’ experience in marketing, public relations and business strategy. He teaches post-secondary marketing, coaches hockey goalies and is past-president of Deltassist.