Tenth Graders from across Southern Westchester seek guidance at annual career conference
Dozens of industry professionals share their experience, expertise
The event featured 73 presenters from dozens of career fields, providing insights and reflections on their professions for students who are at a key point in their high school careers. Participating high schools included Eastchester, Irvington, Irvington, Mamaroneck, Pleasantville, Port Chester, Rye Lake, Rye Neck, Sleepy Hollow, Valhalla, and White Plains.
“We feel that this collaboration together with SWBOCES has helped students explore the careers they’re interested in pursuing,” Sleepy Hollow High School counselor Leticia Andujar said prior to the Education session, featuring her and six of her district colleagues. “It’s important that they start to think about it at this stage, even if this is ultimately not the career they want.”
Tenth grade is the right time for students to "start thinking about college, what's after high school," SWBOCES Career Services Principal Jaclyn Delao said. "Tenth grade is that essential year for that to occur."
Students poured out of school buses and filtered into 30 sessions that included Computer Science, Law, Writing Careers, Fashion Design and Audio. Each attended two sessions in fields of interest to them. Junior and senior class students who normally attend SWBOCES Career Tech programs were off for the day.
Elmsford Police Detective Jonathan Castillo spoke in teacher Erik Marvin’s Security, Law & Policing classroom. Det. Castillo aimed to provide students a sense of what police work is about and its benefits. “While they’re interested in policing, they’re also interested in the socio-economic aspect of it,” he said.
In teacher Damian Powers’ Commercial Art classroom, presenter (and Damian’s father) Bill Powers talked about the costs, revenues and profit potential of an art career. “I want to give them a sense of what it’s all about,” Mr. Powers said. A returning presenter, he said he tries to encourage students interested in art to draw every day.
Jesse Merchant, SWBOCES’ Assistant Director of Interscholastic Athletics, talked about the wide range of careers related to sports, from officiating to marketing to sports medicine, as well as the opportunities young people have to get experience now. They can coach and referee at the youth levels, he said. He also encouraged them to seek out leadership roles.
“Things happen,” she said. “If a crane collapses, you’ve got to get footage of the scene.”
A session on healthcare fields featured nurse practitioner Mona Duben and physician’s assistant Rebecca Del Greco. Each related the path that led them to careers in the booming healthcare field that each described as personally rewarding.
“It’s very collaborative, and personally I like that,” said Ms. Del Greco, a former EMT who works in a hospital emergency department with various practitioners and specialists. “I like having someone to bounce ideas off of.”
In some sessions, SWBOCES instructors shared their own experience and expertise.
Animal Science teacher Michael D’Abruzzo gave students free rein to explore his classroom, which is home to snakes, lizards, rats and other animals. Not every animal is classroom-friendly, though. He played a video of a veterinary technician in a zoo working with a tiger, feeding treats through bars while taking blood from the big cat’s paw and tail.
Sleepy Hollow student Emily Negron was enamored of the rats that Mr. D’Abruzzo’s students care for and train. Emily said she learned that becoming a veterinary technician only takes two years, but students can continue their education if they want to go further professionally.
“I really appreciated this session because it gave you different career paths you can pursue,” Emily said.
Pleasantville student Avery Dahan was on her way to the engineering session. “It’s always been my dream of what I want to do with my life,” Avery said.
Etta Williamson and Elena Lark from Irvington sat in the back row of the TV/Video session. Their aspirations range from acting to writing, directing and producing. Thinking about these things at their age makes sense, they agreed, and it definitely isn’t too soon. “I think it’s a very good time to start thinking about colleges,” Etta said.
In the Education session, Sleepy Hollow Social Studies teacher John Cincotta said he entered college with an undeclared major, considering law until an internship turned him off that path. He detailed how he took positions in districts that gave him great experience until the right opportunity arrived.
“Each and every one of you is going to have a different path into education, but you always have to think about your ‘Why,’” he said, later adding, “There is not a single thing I would change. It is extremely fun, and the work keeps the time moving.”
Student Clara Stern from Irvington said she found the presentations inspiring and said it was helpful to think about different career paths and majors. She isn’t sure exactly what she wants to do, but she’s already thinking about what her professional life will look like. “I don’t want to sit in an office all day. I want to interact with people.”
Added classmate Ryia Srivastavan, “I also thought it was interesting hearing different people’s stories.”
