The lessons I learnt from an Iowa snow storm…

I think by now you will know that I love a good title to grab your attention.  This one, however, is not an analogy but an actual situation I found myself in.

Two weeks ago I visited Des Moines, the capital of Iowa.  I had never visited the state before and I was excited to see the midwest of the USA.  I was there for 4 days in total, and on Day 2, I was lucky enough to experience an Iowa snowstorm.  It snowed heavily overnight, and power was even lost to my hotel for a couple of hours in the early morning.  In total there were around 6 inches of snow, with some rural areas having even more than this.

I arrive at training the next day and everyone was there, even one delegate whose car had gone off the road and had to be towed away.  She simply borrowed her parent’s car and drove in.  Now, this attitude was wild to me, as here in the UK a few inches of snow and everything is cancelled, schools are shut, and definitely, no in-person training is running.

I asked them if this was a lot of snow in Des Moines and they said no this was a light scattering, they had around 15 inches in December and it was -30 temperatures.  Even then apparently the schools were not closed, they only really do this at around -40 degrees Fahrenheit!

Although this is just not something I can ever see happening here in the UK where we just cannot cope with extremes in weather.  I have to be impressed by the resilience of the Iowans (is this even a word!?) even when there is just a little snow or rain it can be very difficult to force myself to leave the house!

This got me thinking about CIPS, and as results have just come out – the level of resilience you have to have as a student who fails an exam.  It’s a horrible feeling and it can be made worse if you are surrounded by colleagues or other students who passed.  I always say that you can take failure one of two ways.

  1. You can give up and not put yourself through the experience again, or
  2. You can not let CIPS beat you, and do everything you can in your resit to get the results you deserve.

So I say to you, be more Iowan! (See I’m now making this a word…) do not accept defeat, you can overcome this challenge, just like you have overcome every other difficulty in your life.  It could be that you need a better support system.  If you would like me to help you pass that exam then get in touch, and fill in our enquiry forms below. (Scroll to the bottom of the page to find the enquiry form)

For Level 3 click here

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Here’s to the next set of results being happy ones for all of you!

Level 3 Diamond Timetable

Exam Series Module No. of sessions Dates
November 2023
M1
3
2nd Oct, 16th Oct, 30th Oct
March 2024
M2 & M3
6
15th Jan, 29th Jan, 5th Feb, 19th Feb, 26th Feb, 4th Mar
May 2024
M4
3
15th Apr, 22nd Apr, 29th Apr
July 2024
M5
3
3rd June, 10th June, 24th June

Level 6 Diamond Timetable

Exam Series Module No. of sessions Dates
November 2023
M1
3
5th Oct, 19th Oct, 9th November
March 2024
M2 & M5
5
25th Jan, 1st Feb, 8th Feb, 22nd Feb, 29th Feb
May 2024
M4 & M7
4
18th April, 25th April, 2nd May, 9th May
July 2024
M3 & M8
5
30th May, 13th June,20th June, 27th June, 4th July

Level 5 Diamond Timetable

Exam Series Module No. of sessions Dates
November 2023
M1 & M2
4
4th Oct, 11th Oct, 18th Oct, 25th Oct, 1st Nov, 8th Nov
March 2024
M5, M15 & M9
4
31st Jan, 7th Feb, 21st Feb, 28th Feb, 6th March
May 2024
M3 & M8
4
10th April, 17th April, 24th April, 1st May
July 2024
M4
3
5th June, 12th June, 26th June

Level 4 Diamond Timetable

Exam Series Module No. of sessions Dates
November 2023
M1 & M2
5
3rd Oct, 10th Oct, 17th Oct, 24th Oct, 7th Nov
March 2024
M3, M5, M7
6
23rd Jan, 30th Jan, 6th Feb, 20th Feb, 27th Feb, 5th March
May 2024
M4 & M6
4
9th April, 16th April, 23rd April, 30th April
July 2024
M8
3
4th June, 18th June, 2nd July