Students are expected to pursue careers after graduation, but many are unsure of what path to take or field to explore. Starting Sept. 29 during seminar, the counseling department will provide a lecture series during seminar to highlight lesser known careers.

“As we’re talking to students, there’s a number of them who really don’t have an idea of what they want to do, and we want to give them some ideas,” counselor Jana Crittenden said. “Our thinking behind it is providing students the opportunity to hear directly from people in different career fields to enlighten them about what opportunities may be out there. As we talk to students, a lot of them are very undecided about career paths and so we just want to expose them to some different possibilities and what training may be required.”

The first speaker, Wesley child life specialist Casey Carr, was counseled by Crittenden in high school. Carr is the only speaker definitively scheduled at this time, but more are in the works.

“I’m working with Mrs.(Melinda) Rangel and the other counselors to establish others. Mrs. Rangel has a lot of contacts from career shadow experiences and career internships, so we’re tapping into that as a resource as well and we’re asking for feedback from students about careers they’d like to hear about,” Crittenden said.

By featuring more obscure careers, the series aims to introduce students to new possibilities and give them a look at the broad spectrum of possible futures.
“What I’m hoping is that it will give students an interest in pursuing post secondary education and finding a career path or direction that they hadn’t thought about before. I’m hoping just to expose them to some other things that are out there. We’re trying to find careers that aren’t necessarily mainstream, because everybody knows what an accountant is, but what’s a child life specialist? What does that really entail? We’re trying to delve a little bit deeper into comparing the perception and the reality,” Crittenden said.

A common perception is that post-secondary education strictly means attending a two or four year university, but many careers require other forms of education. Crittenden hopes to present these options to students as well.

“We want to expose them to careers that don’t necessarily require four years of college. We want to have a gamut of careers that maybe require a CTE certification as opposed to a doctorate or master’s degree. We really want to provide opportunities,” Crittenden said.

If student interest is high enough, Carr’s lecture will be repeated Oct. 28 and additional speakers will present throughout the year.