Winterfield Venture Academy Scholars Set Sights on Future with Vision Boards
On a gloomy Saturday in Toledo, Ohio, the visions of Winterfield Venture Academy scholars and their families couldn’t have been brighter.
The school hosted an event for families where scholars sat down and made a vision board. Scholars started with a blank poster board and filled it with goals and aspirations for the upcoming year. Clips of magazines and photos from home adorned the otherwise empty space until the board was full.
Danielle Reddick, admissions representative for Winterfield Venture Academy, organized the event and said she wanted to introduce her school’s community to something new. She had prior experience hosting vision board parties on her own.
The aim of the event was to allow scholars unfiltered time with their families, and Reddick said families were engaged with the activity.
“The main goal was for the families to take that time to come together,” Reddick said. “Being able to have them come together for this little bit of time to think about what they wanted to do as a family this year was important. I wanted to create that safe space for the attendees to truly spend time to think about what realistic goals they wanted to create.”
The vision board event also featured a special guest speaker: Dr. Marvin Whitfield. He is the CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwestern Ohio and spoke about how passion motivation compared to purpose. Whitfield dove deep on his background and life story, and he included the audience in his talk, giving scholars, parents, and staff the opportunity to share what they’re passionate about.
Another lesson Whitfield imparted on the crowd was one of setting realistic goals. He talked about setting small goals at first and working your way up. During the event, he went up to participants and asked about what realistic goals they were setting for the year.
With the motivation from guests like Whitfield and the determination from all of the scholars at Winterfield Venture Academy, the school has been able to outperform the local district for four years.
At the end of the day, everyone got to take home their vision board and put it up as a reminder to what they are working toward in 2024.
What a great way to set goals! Keep up the great work Danielle and Winterfield Venture Academy!