A smorgasbord of career opportunities–from architecture to zoology–was spread before Woodstock High School’s class of 2002 on Wednesday, and the kids ate it up.
It was the school’s fourth annual Freshman Career Day, with 90 local business and professional people recounting their experiences and outlining the requirements needed to break into their fields.
“You have to be calm under pressure and have total tolerance of people,” American Airlines flight attendant Lisa Marunde told the 13 students assembled for the travel/hospitality panel. “Your primary job is to keep everybody safe.”
Marunde’s was among 19 panels of career opportunities ranging from business to law to veterinary medicine.
While some high schools invite volunteers to sit behind tables and talk individually with students, Woodstock High has opted for panel discussions because they are more interactive, said Barbara Banker, community development director for School District 200.
Wednesday’s program was part of a “process in which we try to build their awareness of career opportunities and prepare them to go out into the workforce,” Banker said. Each year until they graduate, the students will get other opportunities to learn more about different careers.
Banker said the high school’s program focuses on the nuts and bolts of finding a job, including filling out applications, writing resumes and interviewing.
But for the school’s 400 freshmen, Wednesday’s sessions were simply an introduction to what jobs the world has to offer.
Before the program, each student was asked to list four general areas of interest. Based on their choices, the students then were assigned to two 50-minute panel presentations. Banker said she has built a list of volunteer panelists over four years.
George Kazlusky, the school’s director of guidance, said he was impressed by the students’ high level of interest. One of the girls in the legal services group told the panel, “I’m going to be a lawyer at the biggest law firm in Chicago,” Kazlusky said.
Asked whether she knew the name of Chicago’s biggest law firm, he said, “She said she didn’t. But she is still determined that she’s going to go there.”
