Career Days Abound in the Loganville Area

While summer might be on the immediate minds of most students as the school year winds down, area schools are trying to get students to look a little further into the future.

There have been several student career day events in Loganville recently, one at Meridian Park organized by the Walton County Chamber of Commerce, one last week at Loganville High School and one Tuesday at Loganville Middle School.

The students at the high school level were understandably more focused on what their future career might look like. MJ Elliott, a junior at LHS, has already decided he wants to be a chemical engineer. 

Seventh grade LMS FFA student Sarah Wills is looking forward to high school so she can move up through the FFA ranks and on to a career in agriculture.

“I’d like to be an agriculture teacher like Mr. (Brandon) Walker,” she said.

Although many of the students at LMS do have their minds set on a career, at this stage of their lives the focus is possibly more centered on their extra-curricular activities.

“I want to be a model,” said sixth-grader Lily Wallace.

Classmate Katelyn Neeley sees becoming an actress in her future.

“Two years ago I went to a theatre camp and that’s what I really want to do,” she said.

Some sixth-grade students, however, did look at more serious careers.

I want to be a vet,” said Madison Tamen, “Because I love animals and every time I see an animal get hurt I want to help it."

But even at the seventh grade level, the focus was still more on sporting activities than academics. Milton Young, said he wants to be a basketball player and the team he sees in his future is the Orlando Magic. Adam Lary said he’d like to be a professional baseball play and Cody Cowart would like to have his own photography studio.

“I like taking picture but I don’t have my own camera yet,” Cowart said.

Ashley Loveless, however, has a more serious career in mind. She’d like to be a grief counselor.

“My mom passed away and I’d like to help other people,” Loveless said.

Maycen Laporte would like to be veterinarian because of a love of animals and Faustino Marbin would like to be a chef like his mother.

“And I’d also like to be a soccer player,” he said.

Cullen Weeks said he’d like to be a Marine like his brother.

“He’s someone I look up to so I’d like to be a Marine too,” he said.

Kyle Brock said he wants to be a professional hockey player.

“I want to be the first person to play three professional sports at the same time,” he said, noting that Deon Sanders who once played for both the Atlanta Braves and Atlanta Falcons at the same time only managed two.

Corrine Ellis said she wants to be an interior designer like her great aunt who once was featured in a magazine and Phillip Brown said he would like to be a sniper with the U.S. Marine Corp.

“It’s just something I’ve always wanted to do,” he said, noting he doesn’t shoot at the moment.

Gavin Atkins, who does shoot already, said he’d like to take up competition shooting as a profession.

Eighth-grader Jovine Marcotte said she would like to be a journalist because she loves writing. But sport was still very much on the mind of many of the eighth graders with Lakona Lennicx looking at a career in soccer.

“Because I love the sport and I’m good at it,” he said.

Payton Cathran wasn’t quite sure which direction she’s ready to go in yet, but knew she wanted to be where the money was.

“I want to be either a plastic surgeon or a prosecutor,” she said. "They make a lot of money."

Emily Rogers and Trevor Garcia both wanted to work in the explosive industry.

While these students still have a long way to go before they have to really focus on a definite course of study for their future career, LMS principal Russell Brock said it was a priority for the school to steer them in a direction that got them thinking about their future.