Rotary Career Exploration Night

The Rotary Club of Peachtree Corners is pleased to present Career Exploration Night.

Thursday, April 21, 2016 @ Norcross High School

As local high school students become curious about various careers, there are very few opportunities for them to get face-to-face time with real professionals to ask questions about the education and skills they need to succeed in that career. They are eager to learn what colleges to explore, what experience they need, and the many different types of jobs that are available in various career pathways.

This Rotary Career Exploration Night is designed to help professionals in our community take time with students, who will be the next generation of workforce, and help guide and mentor them. It is our goal to help them set real goals and expectations for themselves and correct misconceptions they may have about various careers.

It is our goal to educate students about options open to them and encourage them to take courses that will help them explore the pathway that fits them best. This event will open their minds and open doors that we hope will set them on an exciting career path that’s just right for them.


HOW:The evening will open with a Career Showcase in the school’s Commons area. There, career representatives will man information tables (trade show format) that students and their parents can browse. This will give the students an opportunity to ask one-on-one questions about careers in various fields and gain valuable insight as to next steps they should take to prepare for such careers. At the information tables we encourage you to bring visuals to help illustrate the work that you do, offer handouts on employment trends in your industry, typical jobs in your company, average salary ranges, etc. Information tables will be open in the Commons Area throughout the entire evening.

Please note that this event is NOT intended to be a job fair. Our goal is to help students better understand that there are many careers available to them based upon their unique skills and interests.

In addition to the booth set-up we will host two thirty-minute breakout sessions in classrooms offering panels of professionals discussing specific career opportunities in multiple career pathways, which we aligned intentionally with the State Board of Education’s Career Pathways.

Event Schedule
4:45-5:45 p.m. Set-up Career Showcase Booths in Commons Area
5:00-6:00 p.m. Hospitality Room/Dinner for Industry Professionals
6:00-6:45 p.m. Career Exploration at Industry Tables in Commons Area
6:45-6:55 p.m. Transition to classrooms
6:55-7:25 p.m. Career Panel – Session 1
7:25-7:30 p.m. Transition to next breakout
7:30-8:00 p.m. Career Panel – Session 2
8:00-8:15 p.m. Open Q&A in breakout rooms with panelists
8:15-8:30 p.m. Breakdown industry displays in Commons & depart

Again, there will be multiple career panel choices. Each student will select the top two career pathways they want to dive more deeply into and attend those two specific career panel sessions.

Panels will be introduced and lead by a moderator. Each panel will consist of a blend of 5-6 professionals from various careers in each pathway. Panelists will offer a short introduction and some key information about their areas of expertise and then the moderator will open up the dialogue with the students.

WHO:This event will be open to students of all ages in the Norcross School Cluster. Our primary target audience is middle and high school age students, grades 8-12. We expect to engage over 500 students and parents.

We are actively seeking professionals to engage with us to showcase the following career pathways: Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources; Architecture & Engineering; Arts & Entertainment; Information Technology & Computer Science; Business Management & Administration; Education & Training; Energy; Finance & Banking; Government & Public Administration; Health Science; Hospitality & Tourism; Human Services; Law, Public Safety, Corrections & Security; Manufacturing; Marketing & Communications; Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM); and Transportation, Distribution & Logistics.

This event was founded, with the help of the Rotary Club of Gwinnett, in 2016 by the Rotary Club of Peachtree Corners and engages local municipalities and industry stakeholders across our community. We work in close tandem with school administrators, counselors and teachers to ensure that all of our efforts align with the work of the school system.

Please contact James “Jay” Lowe for more information: jlowe@UnitedSignsGA.com