Big Trees and Big Ideas!

Samantha Lowe is new to Cairn Guidance and we are thrilled to have her! She will be regularly posting on this blog.

My first trip to Portland was amazing! It was great to bond with my new mentors and cohorts, Jess and Liz, while gaining an in-depth understanding of how Cairn Guidance began and ways the company plans to move forward in the field of health education. During my trip to Portland, I had the opportunity to visit the Rose Gardens, many amazing restaurants, attend a Major League Soccer game and see the largest tree of my life! All being new and wonderful experiences!

My trip to Portland not only supplied with me with invigorating life experiences, but showed me a cooperative and softer side to business. Cairn Guidance strategic planning meeting was nothing short of perfect, with a great facilitator, Barbara MacKay, our team really had the opportunity to bounce ideas off of each other in a guided productive manner.  One of my favorite activities included making physical metaphors out of objects. This really resonated with me because of my past research experience. Metaphors are a great way to communicate novel ideas in an understandable and relatable manner.

This is my first “Big Girl” job right out of graduate school, and while I am new to the world of health education it has been a passion of mine for years. Honestly, I was scared of new employment and finding the perfect career path. I have truly gained beyond great mentors and friendships with my employment at Cairn Guidance, and after seeing all of these people in action I know Cairn Guidance can make a difference in the quality of young people’s lives… and I am SO EXCITED to get to be a part of it!

Tune in for Samantha’s next blog post about her research project “A Vagina is an Ugly Duckling: Metaphors for Sex Education”!