Students gather for the first-of-its-kind career fair at Truman High School on Jan. 30.
BRONX, NY – Truman High School played host to a first-of-its kind Career Fair on January 30th. Over 350 students participated in the small-group conversational event, where they met with 20 professionals from various career fields.
Students listen to Josh Jupiter, a television producer, as he discusses how he got into his career path.
“It was a lot of careers that you don’t really think of – that the school doesn’t always tell you about,” said junior Shjan Carter. “If you don’t want to go to college or a four-year school there are other options for you,” she added.
The event followed a format similar to speed dating. The students sat with representatives for ten minutes at a time and asked them pointed questions about what they will need to do in order to become successful in a career.
“You were able to get a lot of information,” Carter said. “It was well organized.”
“It was probably the most well-executed event I’ve ever seen in my eleven years here at Truman,” according to Media teacher Dave Roush. “The personal interaction and round-table conversations were so much better than the table-in-a-gym format you see so often everywhere else.”
Dale Henriques discusses his daily duties as an executive producer at the BBDO advertising agency.
Representatives from many different sectors were on-hand including an engineer, a paramedic, a social worker, an attorney, producers of radio and television commercials, representatives from trade unions, NYPD/FDNY, a communications manager, an urban planner, and the CEO of a non-profit group.
“We’re hoping to see these kids work towards their goals, while at the same time recognizing the wider variety of professions that will be available to them when they graduate,” said organizer and College Access Advisor Alex Raike.
After the event the volunteer speakers held a debriefing session with organizers. Their discussions will drive further programming that Raike and ELA Instructor Jacob Sugar, along with the rest of Truman’s College Access Team will provide moving forward at the school.
