From the press .

Comox Valley Echo May 2006

Campbell River Courier Islander

Comox Valley Echo Oct 10, 2006

Comox Valley Echo Feb. 20, 2007

Peninsula News Review Mar 23, 2007

Senior Living Magazine May, 2007

Monday Magazine Oct, 2007
Peninsula News Review April 21, 2009

Teachers and administrators say:

• • • • • • • • <View an interview with a teacher about CSI>
              • “This process, this activity, not only connects students, it connects the school to its community. Strong school communities should be integral, vibrant participants in their general community”
          • Thanks Chris for all of your hard work. This is an extremely valuable
            opportunity for these kids.
          • Thank you for giving me this opportunity to be involved in the project. I have been getting lots of good feedback from my students. I think now that I have been through the process, I would be able to better set it up with my classes – for eg. my expectations for their on task behaviour, and their participation in the process (active and not passive) They got to see a divergent group of speakers, and seeing the differences was valuable.
          • Read More …

Students say

The meeting buddy process has been quite a different experience. We got a chance to be the interviewers. We were given the power to pry, to assess the presentations of adult professionals. Now that’s new, backwards, and refreshing. I enjoyed the experience, the process, as a whole, was an excellent source of different passions and perspectives.

I learned not only directly, but indirectly as well. I was really “turned on” by presenters who opened up, said ridiculous things. I liked it when the presenter elaborated on a story, told us about their weaknesses as well as strengths. We focus too much on the success of an individual. Example: well, so and so accomplished sldfkjwlke slkdfjwl and wklerjoeyi. They are members of slkerjwoe and woeirjwl etc.

I found that these interviews broke the boundaries of social superiority/ reluctance. We were about to really see the person beneath the success. We heard the stories behind the success. The interviews were empowering. I found out that these remarkable people were, well, human. I discovered, I could accomplish my own ambitions, follow my own passions too! Thank you

This whole program was a truly amazing experience, and I would recommend it to any thinking of taking it. Hopefully someday I will be able to use all the knowledge I reaped from this experience, and maybe even do the whole process over again as I feel I learned many things about myself. Some of the things are: what I want my future to look like, how mistakes are learning experiences, and how amazing life in all forms can be!

It’s an awesome learning experience to hear from people who have fallen, who have picked themselves back up and dusted themselves off and kept going.

They showed me how much you can learn about someone by just spending time with them and asking few questions. By just asking a few open questions it’s amazing what you can learn. Everyone has something to share.

i learned that you don’t really know someone till you ask a really good question. one thing that stood out to me today was the near death experience. i have a whole new view and out look for people that i don’t know, not everyone that seems to have it easy does. i have a better appreciation for asking question and learning for the questions you ask.

• I had been thinking of going into biology in university and after hearing this talk, I feel that biology really does sound cool and fun.
  

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Speakers say

• Mike Colwill talks
• I am very impressed with CSI. I have been showing it off to some of my friends, and telling them about my experience. I can’t help but share; it was a very exciting experience. I sometimes become discouraged with present youth, but the questions kicked me over the top. I’m glad that some students sounded genuinely motivated and enriched… and that it was not just myself. Seeing the their desire to do, expand and lead, as well as listening to the other presentations definitely motivated me.
• Christopher Bowers is a great agent in getting you before high school audiences to talk about what is important to you.  It is a great experience because it is like a fishbowl coaching session and the result is a clearer sense of self and priorities.

  It is like a fishbowl coaching session and the result is a clearer sense of self and priorities.
• Sharing my story really put some energy back into me!  Thanks so much.

In a lot of cases general questions are difficult to answer but are the reasons for our being.

This is an exercise that always makes one do some serious “in-looking” I call it…at one’s life experiences.  We don’t often do that through someone else’s eyes.  It also takes a certain degree, I think, of maturity to get right down to the basics…the honest basics…of what makes each of us who we are.”I’m a part of all that I have met” and all that Ulysses stuff.  We sometimes like to forget…conveniently…some of the stupid things we’ve done…but those are oftentimes the ones we learn the most from.

• Thanks for forwarding the student feedback to me. I enjoyed reading it all. Thanks also for inviting me to come to address the class.
• You sometimes wonder if its worth it ( doing the interviews) but when you get that kind of feedback, it is.

The feedback keeps me interested and helps me understand whether I got my message through…sems I did!