Aragon hosted its biennial Career Day on March 3. Students were able to choose two speakers from a selection of 77 speakers across 12 different pathway categories ranging from the arts to sciences.
The event was coordinated by Aragon administration and several parent volunteers. The planning team looked at data from previous years to find out which career paths students were interested in.
“The teamwork [in planning this] is what I’m most proud of,” said Queenie Hua, Career and Career Technical Education Coordinator. “It takes a village to make this happen, from the parent volunteer group [to] administrators, and all of the behind the scenes [like the] facility [staff and] the librarians welcoming guest speakers in the library in the morning.”
Over 1700 students signed up for speakers, with signups being staggered over a week by grade.
“I like that the seniors get first [pick], then juniors, sophomores and freshmen,” said junior Sarah Cabbiness. “I didn’t want to have to compete with freshmen to get the [speaker] that I want.”
The event took place with a modified even day schedule. Each student got the opportunity to attend two 30-minute sessions, one immediately after second period and the other one after brunch.
“I thought that the time allotted for each presenter wasn’t enough to learn about them and their careers,” senior Leif Rabin said. “[However], the two people that I went to seemed very educated and intelligent, and I enjoyed learning from them.”
Others would have preferred shorter session lengths.
“If it was quicker, maybe 15 minutes with each person, you [could] get more of a variety,” said speaker and leadership coach Stevie Rabinowitz. “When I was in school, I didn’t know that this job I do now, that I love so much, existed. Shorter [sessions means] more opportunity to see more of what’s out there.”
This schedule change was not reflected at Middle College.
“In order to be there, I [had] to be excused from my Middle College classes, but aside from that small sacrifice, it was beneficial,” said junior Kaya Albano. “I think Aragon students would have just seen it as another day to day thing, but since I haven’t been in touch with Aragon events [recently], it was nice to come back to campus, see this intermingling of students and be able to connect over shared career interests.”
This is the first in-person Career Day since the pandemic, as the last one was held over Zoom in 2021.
“In the last [Career Day], it was hard to focus,” Cabbiness said. “One [speaker] was kind of slow, and the other one was way too fast [when] I was trying to [take] notes. This time, there was more engagement and I felt like the presenters were more comfortable.”
Others also enjoyed how the presentations were interactive.
“The most helpful part was probably being able to ask questions and get information on how his work life is,” said junior Varsha Jawadi. “It helps debunk some things [such as] myths about a certain job and [what] you don’t know for sure. When you talk to someone who actually does it, then it’s nice to get those questions answered.”
“It was great to hear about their experiences in college and what companies are looking for”
Students agree that this event opened their eyes to a variety of career pathways.
“It was great to hear about their experiences in college and what companies are looking for,” said senior Lucas Kasper. “[Speaker] Lisa Molloy has worked mainly for startups and it’s interesting to get a feel for how [that] is different from working for a big company.”
The speaker pool size has also increased since 2021, which featured 40 speakers virtually. This has helped hone in on more students’ individual interests.
“I’m interested in studying botany in the field [with a] consideration for environmental impact,” Albano said. “When I went to sit down and learn what exactly [my speaker] does in her field of work, I was pretty surprised because I was drawn to all the points.
The passion that speakers had for their profession also added to Career Day.
“I chose [the nurse practitioner session] because I want to pursue a career in healthcare,” said junior Annie Saban. “Somebody asked her a question and she even started being a little emotional. I think that really shows how much this field of work affected her. It’s just an emotional kind of job and it shows when the person cares.”
Students acknowledged the importance of Career Day in gaining knowledge on paths after college.
“It’s super helpful,” Jawadi said. “So many high schoolers are confused as to what they want to do … when they grow up. I think career days help people decide and narrow down what they want to do.”
The wide variety of passionate speakers allowed for students to explore their interests and engage with professionals in their desired field. Aragon’s next Career Day will take place in 2025.
