4 out of 4 stars
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As the graduation date approaches, many students find themselves unsure of what their life would look like after finishing their high school education. Lack of proper guidance and mentorship are some of the factors that cause such a scenario. Paving Your Path by Kim Nugent, Ed. D is a book that seeks to help high school students to forge their path before and after their graduation.
The book contains 11 well-written chapters. In every chapter, Nugent takes the reader through an aspect that is critical in helping him/her to navigate through life with ease. At the beginning of the book, she relates her story giving the good, the bad, and the ugly. She also gave several quotes from different people. As a strong believer in mentorship, the author encourages every student to have a mentor to help him/her to become the best that he/she can be.
I loved how Nugent simplified the aspect of mentorship by providing an A-Z checklist of the attributes that students should have to be successful. For instance, A stands for Attitude, B stands for Brand … Z stands for Zone. Every attribute forms a sub-topic in one of the chapters (The Solution for a New Generation). At the end of these sub-topics, there are questions that both the mentor and mentee have to answer. The questions are well crafted and very easy to understand. I found myself answering almost every question in the book. I loved the exercise.
I liked that the book provides information from her experiences and vast knowledge and experiences from other successful people. In the sixth chapter (What I Wish Someone Had Told Me When I Was in High School), instead of focusing on her experience, the author wrote more than twenty quotes from different people expressing the things that they wished that someone had told them when they were in high school. My favorite quote from this chapter was from Hilda Posey who said, “First of all, stop worrying! Everything might not turn out the way you planned it but either way, everything will be okay. You don’t have to be completely sure of the direction you will go in life. You can figure it out along the way.” That was a sound piece of advice for the target audience.
When tackling the issue about how to create an opportunity from a problem, Nugent gave an example of her experience as a new faculty member in one of the universities where she taught. She witnessed how new employees had problems navigating through the university buildings and settings. With permission from the Dean, she needed someone to help her come up with a fitting orientation program for new employees. She noted that she “found that person in Cliff Willson. I asked him if he would help and he said yes.” I wished that she had provided more information about who Willson was and what made him the perfect person for the role.
The book was professionally edited. I only noted very few errors, which did not distract my attention in any way. It is perfect for the intended audience: high school students and their mentors. I highly recommend it to them. University students will also find it very helpful. That said, I gladly rate Paving Your Path 4 out of 4 stars. It is a very informative book.
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Paving Your Path
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