Renaissance Academy Hosts 2018 Career Day

Phoenixville, PA — Yesterday, Wednesday, April 25, 2018, high school students at the Renaissance Academy (RA) were visited by some very special guest during the 2018 Career Day. Students were given the opportunity to listen to and interact with presenters whose occupations range from biochemistry research to marketing, from nursing to political science, from dentistry to law enforcement, from media arts & animation to entrepreneurship.

Other professionals attending included a veterinarian, IT coordinator, realtor, chiropractor, financial adviser, journalist, physical therapist, legal attorney, and more. There were 38 esteemed guests currently working in 38 different professions.

Traveling the farthest to attend was Tiffany Collins, a veterinary technician for a veterinary ophthalmologist office located in Georgia. Ms. Collins, who flew up from Georgia with her companion dog, Fitzgerald (“Fitz”), said that although Fitz was a “huge” distraction, students did ask questions about how she obtains certification when changing specialties within her field. After receiving the invitation from RA Academic and College Counselor, Mrs. Tracey Behrens O’Brien, Ms. Collins was excited to attend and would like to be part of RA’s Career Day again next year.

Event organizer, Mrs. Behrens O'Brien, was pleased with the success of the event. "The presenters were a beautiful medley of the 'friends of RA'... alumni, parents, former staff, and community members. Students had an opportunity to hear about a great variety of career pathways and even realize that some paths have more turns than others! Many of the conversations centered around questions from students like, 'I like math and science but I don't want to be a teacher or work in a lab. What are my options?' and 'If I only feel ready to do two years of college at first, can I still have a career? Can I add more years of schooling later?' I am so proud of the engagement our students demonstrated today! I'm also thankful to have such supportive co-workers who see the value in career exploration for our students and helped make it a success!"

Established in 1999, Renaissance Academy is a fully-accredited, K-12, award-winning, tuition-free, college prep charter school located in Phoenixville, PA. The school currently educates approximately 1060 students from over 20 different surrounding school districts. For more information about Renaissance Academy, please visit www.rak12.org.