By Donna Gabanski, Class of 1994
It’s January and time to welcome the 2024 docent class. Training begins on January 20th with 34 participants. Ten of the trainees will go directly to river training and twenty-four to walking tours. The walking tours are Must -See and Mid-Century Modern Skyscrapers. There were 90 applicants for the 2024 class, and participants were chosen from the 70 invited to interview.
The entire class will be together for 5 weeks of Fundamentals of Architecture. The curriculum remains similar to the last several years, using a “case study” approach to teaching the basics of Chicago architecture. Fundamentals also includes expert lectures from Dr. Henry Binford on Chicago’s history and Professor Thomas Leslie on Chicago’s skyscrapers before and after WWII.
One of the changes this year is that we have combined the reader and sponsor role and have a new title “mentor.” One person will work with the trainee from the first week through pre-certification. The certification process for walking track and river track trainees remains the same. The training team is also recruiting docents from recent classes to act as coaches, mentors, and certifiers. It is important to get these docents involved in training to provide leadership in the coming years.
Other notes: some of the assignments that were previously written are now video presentations, and we welcome 3 staff members to the class—Monica Wilczak, Cole Christian, and Jennifer McElroy.
When you have a chance, introduce yourself to a trainee and welcome them.
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