Real World Leaders

Our bright and talented students from Legends Charter School did a fantastic job interviewing our guest Jake Leone President and CEO of Corporate Interiors, Inc. As the students expressed their interest in history, Jake Leone shared with them, "Learning from the past is a good technique for future CEOs and leaders in general, it's taking those experiences, what worked and what didn't and learning from them to help guide your company."

We had a great time this morning recording a Real World Leaders radio show with Dr. Shab Maffei's students from Methacton High School and Christopher Heffernan, CEO of dlivrd. Chris said “We have a saying here at the company: ‘If you don’t make a mistake, it means you’re not trying.’ I’m a firm believer that you can’t really understand success until you’ve understood failure. I’ve failed a bunch of times. You need to put ego aside. Know when it was a mistake and don’t dwell on it. The past is the past. The rearview mirror is a lot smaller than the windshield for a reason.” Chris is a real-life proof that victory is on the other side of failure. Chris, thank you for taking the time to be interviewed by our student co-hosts and for being a positive, relatable role model!

This career coaching was dedicated to all the students who want to go the traditional route and attend university. Our students at Freire Charter School asked Ron Gilyard and Bill Knecht at Jefferson Health Plans how they overcame some challenges at college. Bill Knecht said, "build relationships with your professors" and Ron Gilyard said, " you can share experiences to build connections." Both of these men went through college as single fathers and explained how networking and continuing with school helped them get into their positions. One of our students responded at the end and said, " both these men had to sacrifice for their families, that encouraged me." Thank you Bill Knecht and Ron Gilyard for being open with our students and encouraging them with your story.

Our young ladies at DC International School had a great conversation about seizing opportunities with Olin Green and Cathy Lerche at T-Rex Solutions, LLC. During this coaching session we discussed motivations and taking opportunities. When asked 'what keeps you motivated' Cathy Lerche responded " inner drive is powerful and can lead you to a lot of great places." Olin Green told the young ladies "You have to put yourself out there" once we spoke about how to gain opportunities.

This week, the students at Imhotep Institute Charter High School attended a Real World Leaders Career Coaching with special guests from Cleanlogic: Lylian Melendez, Production Supervisor, and Angelina Hall, HR Manager. 💼 The students asked: "What advice would you give someone who wants to get into a similar career that you have?" Lylian Melendez shared: "You have to be open-minded and willing to try new things. Take the opportunity to do volunteer work in the field that interests you. You never know where that road will lead or who you'll connect with." Angelina Hall responded: "Get as much education as you can. You may not always understand every process, but understanding the industry and field is crucial." Everyone on the call learned something valuable, and we’re excited to see the bright futures that await the students at Imhotep!

We were thrilled to have Michael Precopio, CEO of Summers Laboratories, join Real World Leaders for an incredible Career Coaching session with Souderton Area High School students! Mike shared his valuable insights with the students, emphasizing the power of collaboration and mentorship: “People who ask for help achieve more, faster. If you help people get what they want, you will get what you want.” The students were engaged throughout the discussion and contributed thoughtful answers. It was an inspiring and impactful session for everyone involved! A big thank you to Mike and the Souderton High School students for making this session a success! 🙌 #CareerCoaching #Leadership #Mentorship #RealWorldLeaders #SoudertonHighSchool #InspiringFuture

This morning, Meghann Townsend's students from Hatboro-Horsham School District had the opportunity to interview not one, not two, but THREE amazing employees from Pennoni! Mark Hood, Professional Engineer, told the students: “Don’t be afraid to explore. Don’t get narrowed into one thing and think you have to do that for the rest of your life. Ask. Talk to people. There’s nothing wrong with going into a field and realizing it isn’t what you like. Pursue your passions. Find what you like.“ Hannah Miller, Marketing & Public Relations Specialist, said “You don’t need to know what you want to do when you graduate college. You can start a path and realize it’s not for you… I’m still changing my career now… An aspect of each role helped me find my next role and see what I wanted to do… I think we all do a better job when we like what we’re doing." Michael Lewandowski, Professional Engineer, gave the students the following advice: “Don’t forget that your life doesn’t end while you’re off the clock… There’s a whole wide world of things you can do. Just because you do something for a living doesn’t mean you can’t explore and grow as a person in many different areas. Cultivate a broad range of interests.” We heard from three amazing professionals that it is okay to not have your future mapped out! Follow your passions, network, try new things, and change course as needed. The future is bright for these students from Hatboro Horsham who thanked our guests from Pennoni for taking time out of their days to be interviewed by the students. We couldn't do this without you, Team Pennoni! Thank you for your ongoing support!!

🎉 Thrilled to share that KIPP DuBois Charter School Scholars co-hosted an inspiring episode of the Real World Leaders Radio Show! Our guest, Jeff Westphal, founder of MeaningSphere, shared his incredible journey as a “descendant of a bunch of entrepreneurs,” emphasizing the importance of family legacy and the value of taking risks. Jeff challenged our students to pursue lives that are “intrinsically meaningful,” igniting conversations about leadership, business, and intentional living. The joy and enthusiasm captured in our group photo truly reflect the energy of the show. 🚀 Don’t miss this session on November 3rd! Tune in to Radio America or catch us on your favorite podcast platform as we dive into the insights of Real World Leaders. 🎙️✨ Join the conversation and be inspired! #Podcast #RealWorldLeaders#realworldleaders #leadership #mentorship #entrepreneurship

Real World Leaders hosted a Career Coaching session with the talented students of TACONY ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL. These students had the chance to interview professionals from Stockwell Elastomerics and asked the thought-provoking question: "How did you grow your communication skills?" Here’s what our guests from Stockwell Elastomerics shared: - Sandra Greenhalgh, Director of HR: "Not everybody is going to be outgoing, and that’s okay. It comes with practice. The more you do it and the more you put yourself out there, the better you’ll become. Don’t quit, no matter what you do!" - Reilly Burns-Cohen, Sales Engineer: "A lot of it is building confidence and a relationship with people you work with. Taking time to meet everyone makes you comfortable with collaborating. Take baby steps to become more comfortable communicating." - Yuriy Stolyarchuk, Estimator: "Anxiety is a buildup of energy. You can use it negatively or positively. Amazing things could come from a new opportunity, so you can take those feelings that make you quiet and turn them into something that makes you excel. The difference between a setback and failure: it’s only a failure if you quit. If you keep going, that’s not failure." Such inspiring insights for our future leaders! 👏 Thank you to the team at Stockwell Elastomerics for your guidance and encouragement!

Our students from Hopeworks were fantastic co-hosts for our Real World Leaders Radio Show! Our CEO guests, Bobby Ritterbeck, President of Best Egg and Guido Gallicchio, Chairman and President of Thayer Distribution. When giving advice on how to talk to people with more experience than him when he was younger Bobby Ritterbeck answered, “Don’t have any shame and try to learn more. You have to realize you don’t know everything…asking questions is a critical skill for becoming a top leader.” And when discussing coming to America and having to learn to speak English at six years old Guido Gallicchio said, “Those memories are very vivid, but they also become part of my character when you’ve lived in poverty you tend to not want to go back so it’s a huge motivator even still today. I work very hard, try not to take anything for granted, and always look for ways to be improving something, every day."