Career Day

Career Day: Summer 2011

Career Day was a HUGE success and Let's Get Ready had the best turnout of students ever! Check out photos here.

New York City:

On Saturday, July 30, 228 high school students met with 50 professionals from the New York City area - the day started off with an inspiring speech from author, publisher and lecturer, Olive Peart. Olive spoke of her own struggles to achieve her dream of becoming an author and discussed her path to success. She motivated and encouraged the students by describingvarious ways to approach and overcome obstacles.

The day ended with everyone coming together for a Career Fair where professionals were grouped by occupational fields. Students had the chance to wander throughout and mingle with professionals whose careers were of particular interest to them. Students and professionals exchanged business cards, and students were able to use the networking tools they had learned earlier that day!

Overall, the NYC Career Day was phenomenal - students were able to meet so many professionals from a variety of backgrounds and careers, and professionals were able to connect with students and help them work on their futures! Samantha Creamer, a volunteer professional, commented: "The kids were very engaged, interested and responsive. They had fantastic questions and were excited about how much they learned. It was a great experience for students and young professionals alike!"

Boston:

On Saturday, July 30, LGR held the Greater Boston-area Career Day at the Nonprofit Center in Boston. The event served 116 high school students from 10 Let's Get Ready programs. Representative Marty Walsh of Dorchester presented the keynote speech, inspiring the students to prioritize education as they prepare for their careers. After the speech, a panel of professionals from a wide scope of fields including Medicine, Accounting, Press Relations and Science talked about their career paths as well as answered student questions. Students then split into groups for two workshops, Networking and Resume-Building. The event was a great success - furthering Let's Get Ready's mission to help students to college and beyond!

Portland:

Portland's First Career Day was held at the Rines Auditorium in the Portland Public Library. The event was well attended by 18 students and 9 professionals from a variety of different fields including culinary arts, psychiatry and engineering. Representative Emily Ann Cain kicked off the day and spoke to students about her experiences working in Higher Education and Public Policy. Then, a panel of professionals spoke about their careers and students had the opportunity to ask them questions. The last event of the day was a resume workshop for all students, conducted by Meg Springer, a Career Advisor at Bowdoin College. The event was a great success, with students making important connections and receiving valuable advice for their future.

..............Career Day is for the Students

Young Professionals come together to share their "real world" expertise with smart, ambitious, college-bound students and help them prepare for success.

Students are able to:

1. Get first-hand information about important career steps they can take now.

2. Share their interests, ideas, and aspirations.

3. Hear what it's like to be a professional in various and diverse fields.

4. Learn about pursuing different college majors which will relate to their career goals.

New York City

When: Saturday, July 30, 2011
10:30am - 3:30pm

Where: Robert F. Wagner Middle School
220 East 76th St. (between 2nd and 3rd Ave.)

Boston

When: Saturday, July 30, 2011
10:30am - 3:30pm

Where: Boston Non-Profit Center
89 South Street (across from the South Station T stop)

Maine

When: Saturday, July 30, 2011

10:00am - 2:00pm

Where: Portland Public Library

5 Monument Square, Portland, ME

Check out what a huge success Career Day: Summer 2010 in New York City was!

On Saturday, July 31, 150 students from across Let’s Get Ready’s mid-Atlantic sites gathered at the Robert F. Wagner Middle School with over 50 professionals from the New York City area. The day-long career preparation workshop started off with a bang with inspiring speeches from two exceptional speakers. First, Dr. James Peterson, assistant professor of English at Bucknell University who specializes in hip-hop and popular culture and has been interviewed on national news stations such as MSNBC, spoke to the students about empowering themselves to make a difference in the world. Next, Gbenga Akkinagbe, professional actor starring in the hit series “The Wire” and movies such as “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3,” recounted his rough childhood tainted by extreme poverty. He motivated the students by telling of how he “escaped” his tough childhood and felt empowered to create his own future.

Next, the students were split into 8 classrooms where they interacted with at least 6 professionals in each room who spoke about their careers, career goals and networking. Everyone took the RIASEC personality and career assessment in order to get a better idea of how their personalities can translate into possible careers.

The final part of the day was the Career Fair. Students were excited to circulate around to all of the 8 tables representing different career fields and mingle with the respective professionals. “I had an amazing day today and found it to be a worthwhile event. I am glad I came,” said Hazera Akhtar, a student from the Harlem site. Ivan Polanco from White Plains also remarked that the event was “very inspiring for college.”

A big thanks to all of our students and professionals who helped make Career Day 2010 a huge success!

Click HERE to see more previous Career Days!!

Photos

Check out Career Day Photos!