Soft skill coach, artist, musician, French teacher, author, dancer; these are just a few words that can be used to describe Hermon Carduz.
The brain behind Leader’s Choice Soft Skill Training Club in Tiruchi, Hermon offers lessons in spoken English, personality development, public speaking, guitar and painting.
Though Hermon has been imparting soft skills to students for 13 years, he incorporated his activities under the banner Leader’s Choice just six months ago.
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, Why ‘Leader’s Choice’?
“Our focus is leadership training, since we believe in creating leaders. We inculcate the principles of leadership to our students. I believe that a good leader always creates more leaders, not followers,” he explains.
Expressing concern over the fact that many youngsters in Tiruchi struggle to communicate and express their thoughts in English, he attributes it to the fact that they are not trained enough. .
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“Every college is taking measures to develop theory and practical ability in subjects. But sadly, there just isn’t enough coaching in English language. This proves to be major drawback for the students here,” he adds.
So, what made him choose this field? Hermon recounts his experience 15 years ago, of attending a personality development workshop by Mr. Ramamoorthy from Madurai Kamaraj University.
“Soon, I began taking classes in personality development for my classmates and friends. Then I moved on to different organisations like National Service Scheme (NSS), Rotary and so on, ” he says. Today Hermon is invited by colleges, schools and corporate companies to share his expertise.
Herman is also the proprietor of Leader’s Choice Art Gallery. A self-taught artist, he has created more than 200 works of art . It was during a chance visit to an art gallery in Bangalore that he was first struck by art. Looking at the costly works on display there, which seemed easy to create, he decided to try it himself.
“Under the guidance and support of artist Arul Devan and advice from professors of Kamaraj University, I started off by creating replicas of the works of prominent artists. I did an extensive online study about the art of Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali among others to learn techniques and tips,” he said.
Hermon uses acrylic on canvas and oil on canvas, and techniques like palette knife finish, brush finish, sponge and mixed media to create his art.
“Only a sound mind which can think of service above self can create a good piece of art. The true element of a painting is the thought process that goes behind it,” he says, explaining what makes for a good composition.
“To me art is to express, not to impress. How it is expressed, depends on the artist,” he adds, while stating that his focus is in the creation of inspirational art. He derives his inspiration through prayer, from his students and family as well.
Holding a Masters degree in French, Hermon also teaches French in a private school, guitar classes in the evening during weekdays and painting during weekends. It was due to his French classes that Hermon developed an interest in playing the guitar. He learnt to play the instrument from a student and soon started playing Christian devotional songs. He has also written lyrics for several personal compositions. .
What’s more, he is due to release two inspirational music albums and is authoring a set of inspirational books.
He also teaches special children the basics of painting.
He is donating a part of the proceeds from his gallery and classes to help underprivileged children.
About his future plans, he says: “I plan to take online seminars and classes, in order to raise more funds to help the children.”