LRSD students attend State of the City luncheon

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This article was published 05/04/2023 (1245 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On March 2, 12 Louis Riel School Division students stepped off the beaten path of high school, a tad edgy about the day about to unfold.

“It’s such a different opportunity for us.”

“We don’t usually get to do stuff like this.”

“This could be a spark for me that I need.”

“I’m unsure, nervous, excited, and intrigued all at once.”

The students came from the Louis Riel Arts and Technology Centre’s applied business management program. They were attending the mayor’s annual State of the City luncheon at the RBC Convention Centre.

The gathering of 1,000 representatives of businesses, non-profits and professional organizations prompted student Sarah Benes to remark, “I had to move out of my comfort zone and into my learning zone.”

The students’ casual hallway garb was replaced with more formal suits, dresses, and leather shoes, fit for an environment in which business attire is the norm and networking with professionals is a way of life.

Prior to the luncheon, the students met many prominent Winnipeg business leaders in the hospitality room.

Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce CEO Loren Remillard greeted the cohort and shared the importance of working hard to build their creativity, “a key skill that employers are looking for.”

The students also met and engaged in conversations with Mayor Scott Gillingham, who shared how “youth were important in building the future potential of Winnipeg.”

The students were treated to a lunch sprinkled with speeches from many business leaders, videos promoting Winnipeg’s growth and development, and a moving poem entitled At the Crux of Two Rivers, ”written exclusively for the event by Winnipeg’s recently appointed poet laureate Chimwemwe Undi.

The mayor’s address offered thoughts and initiatives related to homelessness, addictions, mental health, Indigenous culture, safety issues, economic development, and a vibrant downtown.

The ABM students were especially engrossed in the activities and messaging that related to the business and vision of the city.

“Witnessing the networking in every corner of every room was an eye-opener to me,” Dylan Peters said.

Yannik Barnabé was impressed that the Mayor’s team “researched Houston’s successful homelessness strategy to seek solutions for Winnipeg’s problem.”

Rhianna Hamoline connected with Take Pride Winnipeg, earning an internship and a potential summer job.

“The luncheon helped me feel more confident about introducing myself to others and making me less scared to do it again.”

In his address, Mayor Gillingham implored the audience to build positive narratives of their lives in Winnipeg and to embrace a mantra of “relentless hope.”

In a unique classroom with Winnipeg’s business community, 12students undoubtedly shaped their life stories with new and hopeful possibilities.