We were honored to celebrate Take our Daughters and Sons to Work Day on April 28th with our friends at The Biondo Group, who invited children and grandchildren of their staff to explore new ideas and pay attention to the moments in life that move us in certain directions.
Photos above courtesy The Biondo Group.
Working with the theme “Sparking Aha Moments,” the children, ages 8 to 11, spent part of the day at the Biondo offices in Milford, PA playing games and doing activities that provided opportunities to come up with some of their own aha moments. Later, the group met Heron’s Eye Co-Founder Sandy Long at Shohola Falls Recreation Area for a guided Wonder Walk during which they observed and photographed the natural world.
“To break the ice, we started off with a stock market game and some ‘Getting to Know You’ Bingo,” says Alexa Bogusta, a Performance Analyst and Registered Associate at The Biondo Group. Alexa’s daughter Eva participated in the day’s activities along with Rocco and Bella Biondo, son and daughter of Joseph P. Biondo, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Investment Officer, and Portfolio Manager; and Alora and Alayna Conklin, granddaughters of Nancy Conklin, Director of Finance and Administrative Services.
“The children then learned about cyber security, supply and demand in the marketplace and public speaking,” adds Alexa. “Projects revolved around setting goals and starting their own business.”
Photo by Sandy Long.
At Shohola Falls, Sandy opened her Wonder Walk with an exercise to connect the children with their surroundings. “We spent a few moments simply listening, looking around, smelling the air, and touching the grass,” says Sandy. “Then the Biondo staff provided small cameras to each child and we began searching for objects or things — natural artifacts — that stirred our senses. The subjects didn’t necessarily have to be beautiful, but interesting in some way, such as various sized holes in the ground that indicated the presence of wildlife or things unseen.”
The children leaned in for close ups of insects, a sunfish, and flowering plants; and even tried to capture images of birds. Sandy guided them along a trail at the edge of Shohola Lake and concluded the walk with a spectacular view of the rushing falls below the dam.
“Despite a light drizzle they trooped along and were very much engaged in the process of discovery,” adds Sandy. “It’s heartening to see such interest in the natural world.”
After their Wonder Walk, the children returned to the Biondo offices and went home with prizes and certificates of completion.
2016 marked the 23rd anniversary of Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day.
