21st Century Kids Explore Careers

By Ellen R. Delisio

Running into burning buildings, juggling a large snake and icing dozens of cupcakes were just some of the on-the-job experiences 21st Century Learning Center students heard about at this year’s recent Career Showcase at Woodrow Wilson Middle School (WWMS).

Sixth-through-eighth graders came prepared with questions for more than 25 presenters who were eager to chat about their professions. Among those were Scot Haney, Channel 3’s meteorologist and host of the Better Connecticut show; and Alexis Volpe, Middletown’s Teen Miss. While many of the students collected information, others zeroed in on their interests.

“As one of the chairpersons for the Career Showcase, my idea was to present students with both traditional and ‘out of the box’ careers,” said WWMS school counseling secretary Mary Monarca-Webb.

“I truly feel it's important for students at this level to understand and respect the different career paths our presenters chose. Students were able to listen to them, speak to them, and of course, many presenters brought wonderful exhibits that students were able to touch. They were also very excited for the free giveaways.”

Seventh grader Breynna, who hopes to be a baker, had questions for Audrey LaRosa, bakery director of Middletown’s NoRa Cupcake Company. When Breyanna asked how many cakes NoRa bakes daily. LaRosa answered they bake every day. “And we are ALWAYS frosting.” The NoRa team also had pictures of cakes to show and cupcakes to sample.

Rita Adkins, a decorator at NoRa, said she was especially excited to be at the fair because she used to teach at Keigwin. Her last students now are high-school freshmen.

Breyanna said she drew inspiration from LaRosa. “I like how they create their own recipes and the cakes are very creative.” For LaRosa, the career fair was a chance to contribute to the community. “I went to school here (WWMS) and wanted to give back to my roots.” She also wanted to convey to students that persistence counts. “If you are passionate about something, you can do it. I started in retail and worked my way up.”

Laura Matura, a realtor with William Raveis Realtor in Middletown, said she was impressed by how knowledgeable many of the students were about real estate, probably due to the number of television shows about buying, selling and renovating homes. “Kids know a lot of the buzz words.”

Those kind of shows led to sixth grader Olivia’s interest in real estate. “I want to learn more about flipping houses.”

Luis, also a seventh grader, hopes to be a surgeon one day and met with family physician Andrew Thompson, who described how once he had to help a neurosurgeon. Luis said he knows what he wants to do and understood how the Career Showcase could help other students. “The fair is a good idea for kids who don’t know what they want to do.”

Prior to the Career Showcase, Monarca-Webb was part of the 21st Century’s Junior Achievement Team, and that helped prepare students for the career fair. “I must say my class was most engaged,” she said. “They enjoyed sharing their paths and what they will one day achieve. My class discussed each presenter’s career and we learned what would be good questions and what would be inappropriate.”

Students definitely did their share of exploring. Seventh-grader Dayton, said she was interested in photography, acting and weather forecasting. “It takes a lot of work to be a photographer,” she noted.

Eighth-grader Kathryn took a lot of notes while talking to local writer Mark Marselli, explaining that she is hoping to be a creative writer.

Other popular presenters included Jerry’s Pizza and Vecchitto’s Italian Ice, both of which handed out samples; and the Curious Creature Man who came with an assortment of critters, including a young alligator, a hedgehog and a large snake.

Representatives from the police and fire departments and city government also attended, including Mayor Dan Drew, who said students asked about the nature of his job and the hardest thing he had to do.

Local attorney Sarah Shapiro, said attending these events helps prepare students, “Kids are our future—it’s important to expose them to options so they can continue to make this a great country.”

Career Showcase Presenters:

Safety:

Police: Officer Sanford (WWMS SRO)

Fire: South Fire District -Deputy Fire Marshall James Mastroianni

Campus Security WWMS: Gary Hunter

Correctional Officer for Women’s Prison: Keith Hunter

City Officials/Law:

Mayor Dan Drew

Deputy Mayor/Councilman: Bob Santangelo

Probate Judge: Joe Marino

Attorney: Sarah Shapiro

Education:

Language arts teacher WWMS: Anthony Albrecht

Health & Extra Curricular Activities:

Nurse Practitioner (APRN) for SBHC @ WWMS: Lynn Taylor

YMCA Camp Ingersoll Director & Former Peace Corps Volunteer: Ben Stillman

Animals:

Curious Creature Man: Patrick

Pawsitive Therapy Dogs: Lauren Crowley

Radiologist from Pieper Memorial Veterinary Center: Dr. Sean Freer

Animal Control for Middletown: Gail Petras

Food:

Jerry’s Pizza: Terry Lockwood

Vecchitto’s Italian Ice: Joe Vecchitto/Ann Vecchitto-Anderson (bringing Ice)

NoRA’s Cupcake Co.: Audrey LaRosa, Bakery Director (bringing Funfetti mini cupcakes)

Celebrities:

WFSB Channel 3 Meteorologist and Host of Better CT.: Scot Haney

Middletown’s Teen Miss: Alexis Volpe

Community Enrichment:

Editor in Chief of the Wire Journal & Author: Mark Marselli

Funeral Director for Coughlin-Lastrina Funeral Home: Seb Lastrina

Mailman to represent Middletown Post Office

Realtor for William Raveis: Laura Maturo

Band “Bonfire Acoustics”: Steve Matthews to represent

Visual Art:

Photographer - Perceptions Photography: Sandy Aldieri

Artist: Virginia Wilkos