Career day brings more than 60 speakers to Aragon

Today, students will have the opportunity to watch Career Day presentations, with experts in various professions visiting Aragon to explain aspects of their jobs. This biannual event will feature over 60 guest speakers of different occupations and will be open to all students.

The presentations will take place over several hours after shortened first and second periods. Speakers will be located in classrooms hosted by teachers and presentations will last around 25 minutes each. Students will have the opportunity to hear four different speakers before resuming a normal schedule.

This tradition started many years ago, but was suspended until 2007 when it was reinstated. This event has been planned through collaboration with the Parent Teacher Student Organization (PTSO), which has been working diligently to organize and coordinate with speakers.

Counselor Laurie Tezak has helped the parents coordinate with the school. She feels excited about this event because of the effort and enthusiasm put in, every year. The way they do it, on a large scale, it takes about a year. We’re even getting offers from speakers coming to us.”

Service commissioners and leadership students will meet and host the speakers upon their arrival, and leadership will be in charge of publicizing the event.

Parent co-chairs Sue Blockstein and Gale Borden have been leading this outreach to the community. They have been contacting many guests through personal connections and previous participation and are trying to create a diverse assortment of jobs. There will be many professions from areas like the arts, public services, sciences, technology, business, health, and trade.

Borden is very enthusiastic about this opportunity for the students. They do not hold it annually because she says, “They get to see it twice and will not be bored as opposed to seeing it every year. Kids can develop and find their interests through this preview.”

She also stresses that students will have multiple opportunities to explore their preferred career. Borden says, “We want people to know they have another chance, and we want them to open up to different professions.” Borden encourages that students have preferences in mind, but teachers and counselors will also be around to provide options for students. As an improvement this year, there will be bigger maps to help students find speakers.

Each speaker will be offering their own presentation, including information such as pros and cons, educational requirements, and job prospects. Past speakers have often used PowerPoint presentations to give students an overview, along with a question and answer period.

Grace Hassid, M.D., a doctor for the Department of Public Health, was a prior speaker two years ago and has the highest respect for the students and teachers. For her presentation, she will discuss why she chose to be a doctor, and what it means to her. Hassid says, “This is a fantastic opportunity for students who think they may have an interest in a particular field.”

Jeff Jacobs, Vice President of Chemistry, works at the biotechnology company Ardelyx, and has been in the industry for nearly 20 years. In past years, he has received full classes, and says, “It’s a great concept. Students have the opportunity to get exposure to options. It’s also a way to give back to the high school community by spreading interest in science.”

Having presented twice before, Jacobs says he always tries to pick a topic to talk about that would be popular. Previously, he has discussed obesity and performance enhancing drugs. Jacobs believes that it is important to be engaging and interactive with the students.

After receiving successful participation in past years, Career Day has been again made possible through much coordination between the administration and the PTSO. This year will feature even more guest speakers, and interest is growing for this promising event.