Career Day Held at Lawrence Middle School

• “Follow your passion.”
• “Sell yourself.”
• “Improve the quality of life of your customers.”
• “Be smart: Future employers will see what you post online. Use gracious professionalism.”

They are great advice for anyone entering the workforce, but the above gems were recently given to Lawrence Township middle school students.

As part of the school’s 23rd annual Career Day, eighth-graders at Lawrence Middle School on April 8 attended four sessions with various professionals to hear words of advice that will help them as they try to figure out what they might want to do with their futures.

The focus of the day was on careers instead of jobs, and the advice heard was useful for everyone. Speakers included 40 adults representing a variety of careers – from military personnel to professionals holding doctorates in their fields, from musicians to bankers and engineers. Howard Eskin, a Philadelphia sports radio personality, served as the keynote speaker for the event.

Dana Karas, district supervisor of guidance, said the idea behind the program is to help students “make connections to what they are doing now and what they can do in the future.” She said Lynne Miller, guidance counselor at Lawrence Middle School, was instrumental in overseeing the the event.

Cody Gallo, controller for BMW, told students he was always “passionate about cars – couldn’t wait to drive.” Back in middle school he thought he wanted to design cars. He “took a lot of classes to figure out how to get into the industry. I went to college and got a finance degree.” After an internship at BMW he went to work in the company’s controller’s department working on budgeting and forecasting the business behind the cars.

“The best feeling in the world is to do what you want to do,” Gallo told students.

Chris Clark, bass musician and teacher, emphasized the importance of “selling yourself as your product.” Even if you are not in business, “you are always selling yourself. You need confidence in yourself.”

“If you love something enough, and you want to keep doing it, it is about the doing it,” he added.

Valerie Franceshini, a pharmacist with CVS, told students, “I’m here to improve the quality of life of my customer.” She works with patients and their doctors to help the patients stay healthy, thus improving their lives.

Amy Otey, a Grammy-nominated children’s musician best known as “Miss Amy,” really had her group of students moving. Her advice for the eighth-graders was to “keep the fire going to see what happens.” She encouraged them to use “gracious professionalism” when posting information about themselves online. After all, years from now future employers will see their stuff. “Be smart!”

Miss Amy told students that when she is on stage, “it is not about me…it is about my audience and my team – musicians, sound guy, etc. There is no room for divas” when performing.

In addition to adults, the eighth-graders heard from Lawrence High School students who work at Cardinal Bank at LHS – the only student-run, school bank in Mercer County. They referred to being able to work as tellers in the bank as a “great learning experience.” They will graduate high school with professional banking experience – something most high school students cannot say.

Michael Dean, technology coordinator for the district and one of the speakers, said of the event “it is a great opportunity for students to become exposed to a wide range of careers. The focus is on careers, not jobs.”

In addition to listening to presenters, the students participated in other activities to help them determine their career interests. Last month, Lawrence High School had a similar program. Some of the presenters had such a positive experience at the high school they asked to be allowed to return to the district and work with other students. This was their chance to work with the middle schoolers.