What can you learn by talking to a neuroscientist, a journalist, and a social worker? The possibilities are endless! Some of the members of our Youth Leadership Advisory Board can attest to that, as they recently met with professionals from a variety of fields for a fun and informative (online) career panel.
How’d this panel come about, you ask? Here’s Nicole, from our Advancement team, to explain a little more: “First – Precediha asked YLABers what careers they wanted to learn more about. We had a terrific–and long–list of careers, which made recruitment easy and fun. (And wow – those kids wanted to learn about Science Research, Neurology, Architecture, Filmmaking, Writing! So impressive!!)”
Professionals from across career fields—from journalism to neuroscience to social work to business—joined some of our YLABers to answer questions about their experiences and provide some insight into their worlds. Many of our YLABers are in high school, and beginning to think about what they might want to explore as they move forward.
Angela, one of the YLABers in attendance, said, “The career event was helpful because it gave me ideas on what job I can pursue in the future. It gave me more options of what courses I can take in college. They also gave us tips on how to be successful.”
This was a vital event in showing students that the possibilities for their future are truly endless, and that they can pursue whatever career they want.
The panel wasn’t just enriching for the YLABers, either. One of the panelists, social worker Sara Biel, said, “I really loved hearing the panelists stories about what drew them to their choice of career and the journey they took to create the job they have now. It was also wonderful and inspiring to talk with young people who are investigating social work /psychology as a career path.”
We are so thankful for all of the panelists—Maddie Oatman (writer at Mother Jones), Eric Cole (architect), Oren Leaffer (computer programmer), Jon Rutchik (neurologist), Sara Biel (social worker), Mariana Mendez (public health worker), Sanket Rege (science researcher), and Michelle Favin (business executive)—and students who joined us for this event. We really enjoyed learning alongside our students, and hope to continue to host events like this!