The Pilot Class

Listed below are the inspiring individuals who make up the neoPrentice Pilot Class. I would like to acknowledge each of them for their commitment to the success of this program. You all are so engaging, passionate, and beautiful, and thinking of how I've connected with each of you brings a bright smile to my face!


Apprentices


Aaron Suedmeyer (aka Superaaron) - neoPrenticing with Mabel now!

• Currently: Freelance Web Designer
• Interested in: freelance web design, life coaching, flash/flex, green companies

Susan Lee

• Currently: EFT & Breathwork Practitioner (training/starting practice) & PT Graphic Designer
  
• Interested in: business operations, owning a dance studio, being a personal organizer, green companies
  

Lish Echaria

• Currently: Unemployed
  
• Interested in: raw food industry, midwifery, working with kids
  

Marya Aragon - neoPrenticeship with Anne, coming soon!

• Currently: Baker at Café Gratitude
  
• Interested in: psychology & being a counselor
  

Coaches


Christy Swenson

• Currently: Licensed Massage Therapist
  
• Offering: the massage therapist experience beyond just giving massages

Mabel Liang - neoPrenticing with Aaron now!

• Currently: Freelance Graphic Designer
  
• Offering: valuable insight about the business & personal lifestyle of being a freelancer

Shanti Atkins

• Currently: CEO of ELT, Inc.
  
• Offering: a neoPrenticeship at ELT! Areas for learning might include marketing, production, implementation, support, or system administration.

Anne Brodzinsky, Ph.D. - neoPrenticeship with Marya, coming soon!

• Currently: Psychologist
  
• Offering: guidance on what it's like to be a psychologist at a children's school

Many of them still need to be paired up with an apprentice or coach, so please email me at neoprentice[AT]gmail.com if you'd like to get involved or know of someone who would be a good fit! Thanks for visiting!

Poster

(click image to enlarge)

Here is the amazing poster designed by Susan Lee!

Name Change: An Exploration of Branding, yikes!

Hey all! I recently spent a couple of weeks racking my brain over a new name for the program. Through sharing about it with others, I have been getting mixed reactions to the name. I then realized that "roleplay" has so many existing and very specific connotations to it. The next step was clear; it would be sooo fun for me to come up with something fresh and neutral.

Thus, I give you, dun-da-da! .... neoPrentice!

Roleplay is no doubt a fun name, and neoPrentice provides the credibility that I believe was lacking before. (Plus, it's neat to say!)

The inquiry and result actually blossomed from an amazing conversation I had with my friend Susan, who is designing a poster for the program. (Susan is also one of my roleplayers!) We got into discussions of branding and what would catch people's attention. I'm happy to report that the poster is INcredible! I'll be sure to post a digital version of it here when it is finalized, so stay tuned...

Day 3

What we went over today: finances! contracts, and getting new clients.

To be a freelancer or not to be a freelancer. We had a few discussions about the nature of the work and money. How for months at a time you may not have work. That the money is not constant, so you have to plan and manage your finances even more so-- like have some savings to "float" for the times when you may be done with all your projects and haven't found a new one yet, and to use a financial tracking system that you can keep track of everthing.

And we both agreed that we don't like working in offices. :) But it's a packaged deal because that means that we need to be much more disciplined about our schedules, time management and budgeting. Dun dun dun.

day two. day too.

today we met for two hours.

We went over what was needed in initial client meets. And how to have a successful meeting. If you would like to know the details here they are:
http://akasuperaaron.blogspot.com/2009/06/initial-client-meeting-notes.html

We also went over how to create a proposal.

--superaaron

The first meeting.

Hi Im superaaron. Im the roleplayer. I get to be Mabel for a week. We are planning out spending 4 half days together.

What I would like to get out of this is an ease and to have fun with freelancing

We talked about setting up time management and billing systems today.

Freelancing with Mabel

Aaron and Mabel are about to embark on their Roleplay adventure... stay tuned for their posts on the experience!

Introduction

Hi everyone! Kelsey here, and I am posting to tell you about a fun new program that I am developing with my community here in San Francisco. It's called, Roleplay: An exploration of Living Passionately! Roleplay is an apprenticeship program that empowers adults to explore new careers in the playful, wide-eyed, and adventurous way that kids discover new things in life everyday.

In the American workforce, it seems like us adults don't give ourselves the permission to play and enjoy life in the same way kids are given. We have bills, responsibilities, tight schedules...we've got it all! So then, why can't we really have it all??? Well, I say we can! What would it be like to have a career that is an absolute expression of what we're passionate about in life? What would it be like to live, fully and completely AND handle all of our responsibilities as adults? Ohh, the possibility!

Whether you're fresh out of college and not sure what's next, or have been in the same job for years and want a renewed outlook on life and the workforce; Roleplay could be the life-altering experience you're looking for!

I created this program in a class I am taking with Landmark Education. Through their Self-Expression and Leadership Program, participants create and implement projects that have us get our communities involved. We all have it in us to be leaders, and I've found that, everyone who participates in our projects becomes a leader in the community simply through their openness, generosity, and commitment to making a difference.

The class started on March 21, 2009, and by it's finale on July 2, 2009, I will have the following milestones complete:

1. A pilot class consisting of 5 Roleplayers (apprentices) & 5 Rolemasters (teachers)
2. An event organized and scheduled to happen in Fall 2009 -- the intention of this event is to celebrate the extraordinary pilot class and get the word out about Roleplay so that it reaches non-profit organizations who are interested in implementing it as a community service program offered by their organization
   
3. 2 media mentions (such as newspaper articles, TV or radio spots, blog coverage)

To date, I have 4 Roleplayers and 3 Rolemasters revved up and ready to go as soon as I can pair 'em up!

Stay tuned for updates on the progress of these milestones!