They stared, perhaps a little bemused. I paid no attention, reading the email on my phone one more time. "All of us, heading off to lunch... come in at 10:00 am?" I read slowly. It wasn't the first time that a kid in a suit with a sports bag slung over his shoulder would be on the SkyTrain, riding the line from beginning to end. It certainly wouldn't be the last either.
Waterfront. Terminus Station.
I stepped off the train, lost in the sea of people, emerging into the vast building that housed the station. In my peripheral vision, vast windows revealed a rare, brilliant cloudless day amidst the vast steel mirror sculptures of downtown Vancouver.
I headed towards the elevator. Reflective golden letters carved behind a glass coating adorned a wall beside the doorway. Watershed Capital Partners, third floor.
Frappuccino by my side, I sit at the conference table. We talk. Not a one-sided lecture on my duties or responsibilities. Rather, a discussion of my project creating and designing web content. Our project.
An experiment on the web. Vision, goals, implementation, all explored. My input was valued; my thoughts were given equal consideration to that of an experienced business professional. It was beyond anything what I would have expected to be discussing as a high school student, an intern to a growing company trying a chance on a student from a summer program for talented youth.
I couldn't be more glad they took that chance.
Yesha Ouyang
Watershed Partners
Vancouver, BC