Career Exploration

As part of the Middle School curriculum, students learn about different career paths and opportunities through a class called, “Career Exploration.”  The purpose of the class is to ignite passion and further curiosity about the application of the subjects they are currently learning about and discover possible careers in varying areas of interest.

.

We need your help! Please consider signing up to be a “career speaker” and to come in for one presentation session. (Feel free to pass this invitation along to someone you know who might be interested in sharing about their profession, too. We would love to get some outside perspectives!) It’s only for one hour and a great way to share your expertise and experiences, as well as inspire passion in our Middle School students.

All sessions are from 8:30 – 9:30 AM on the following dates: 

Oct. 18^th, Nov. 8^th, Dec.13^th, Jan. 24^th, Feb. 14^th, Mar. 14^th, Apr. 18^th, May 16th 

Click here to sign up to be a Career Speaker.

Following is a suggested career speaker outline, to guide your presentation:

1. Introduce yourself and talk about your educational background– students are exploring what they might need to do to get into different careers, so everything is relevant!  Feel free to talk about what types of classes you took in high school, what extra-curricular activities you participated in, where you went to college (if applicable) and for what, what else you did in college (sports, clubs, government, etc.), any advanced degrees or certificates you earned or are working toward, any professional learning or hobby learning that you continue to do, when you decided to do what you’re doing now, how many other different careers you’ve had (if applicable) and what other jobs you’ve done that were in the “ladder” to where you are now (if applicable).

2. Talk about your current job. Students are exploring everything about different careers, including where the job might be, the environment that it’s in (office, lab, outside, etc), how many people work with you, your general hours, your vacation (if you’re comfortable with sharing that), whether you travel and for what, what you continue to learn (formally or informally) about your job and why, what do new employees have to show that they can do, etc.

3. Develop an activity for students to do that shows them a little about your job. For example, a veterinarian might give students a list of conditions and then describe an animal’s symptoms and have students decide what they think is causing the symptoms.  A graphic designer might walk students through designing a logo and then ask students to design one of their own. A financial planner might give students a briefing about different stocks or bonds and have them choose how to invest a client’s money.  Students can work individually, in pairs, or in small groups, and they have access to laptops that they can use if needed. Feel free to give our students some challenge – they’re used to it!

4. Debrief and discuss the activityand add a twist (maybe the animal is really a chimp, maybe the logo now needs to use a different format or color palette, maybe the client decided that she wants to invest only half of the money . . .).

5. Debriefthe twist and/or answer any other questions that students have.

Thanks again for your time, effort, and for sharing your knowledge. We look forward to welcoming you!