What does it take to run a business in Grand Marais? And what does it take for a youngster to get his/her first job? These were just a few of the questions that Eric Humphrey (above) answered when he spoke to 8th grade students recently at Cook County Middle School.
Eighth grade students in T.J. Super and Dorie Carlson’s social studies class recently got a treat when Eric Humphrey gave a presentation about what it is like to run a business in Cook County.
Humphrey was taking part in the Northland Prosperity Network’s “CEOs in the Classroom,” a program developed by business owners, managers and chief executive officers together with eighth grade teachers to better prepare kids to enter into the emerging world economy.
The idea for this program and others like it came from the 1998 Workers Investment Act.
Randy Back, a career counselor for Northeast Minnesota Office of Job Training, introduced Humphrey to the class.
After his introduction Humphrey smiled and said, “CEO might be too grand a term to use” about managing businesses in Cook County, but added, “I grew up here and attended the same school you do. In fact, I sat in this classroom. I participated in band and sports and was in all sorts of extra curricular activities but I still paid attention to my academic work, which gave me a chance to do well in college.”
Humphrey graduated with a degree in economics from St. Olaf in 1992. He came back and worked at his family’s business, the Grand Marais Trading Post, for two years. But, he said, “I got restless.”
Humphrey, who had taken two semesters of Japanese while at St. Olaf, went back to school, attending the University of Minnesota for one year and studied Chinese. He spent the next year in China participating in a Chinese immersion class, then began working as a resident director of a study abroad program that took intermediate and advanced college students from around the country and taught them the finer points of the Chinese language and culture.
“I also worked for an American medical company in China, then worked for a while with a fellow from British Columbia who was putting together a studentteacher exchange program. That all ended in 2003 when SARS (severe acute repertory syndrome—a severe form of pneumonia) hit. There were no more exchanges. I decided to leave and come back home when someone in my building came down with SARS,” said Humphrey.
During the five years Humphrey was in China, he lived in Beijing and Harbin, two large cities.
When Humphrey returned home he joined his mother, Linda, and sister Stephanie as a partner in the family business, the Grand Marais Trading Post.
Kids need to have fun, said Humphrey, but they also need to find out what their strengths and weaknesses are and figure out what motivates them, what excites them and where their passions lie. Eighth grade is a good place to start, he said.
“What kids do now counts. Whether it’s posting something on-line they shouldn’t post, or not showing up for work or being late for work. It matters.
“It’s important to be well rounded. If a business is looking to hire someone and they get a resume with straight A’s and no activities, it doesn’t look as good as someone whoturnsinaresumewithaBaverage but lots of activities on it. Be active in the community. Volunteer, take language classes and keep learning. Life is changing faster than ever. You must be able to be a good learner. Don’t close doors for yourself.”
Humphrey said with technology rapidly changing, learning has never been more important than it is today. He told them that it was not too early to start thinking about their future, and that even the academic decisions they make now could affect their potential to get jobs later.
When Humphrey was done he took questions. “I was impressed with the kids. They’re eighth graders and it’s tough to sit still at that age. They seemed to be good listeners and asked some good questions,” Humphrey said.
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