I am sure many of you have heard the announcements and seen the posters in the hallways. But what exactly is Windows to the Workplace?
Windows to the Workplace is a career presentation program that has been taking place in the school library during Quest Time. All students are welcome to come to any presentation.
The program was first started at SJHS a couple months ago by our school counselors: Mrs. Droz, Mrs. Distefano, Ms. Walker, and Mrs. Linton. They wanted to give students an opportunity to see what kinds of careers are available in the world, and find one that they are interested in. “The State Office of Education has encouraged counselors statewide to work towards helping students to be ‘College and Career Ready’ upon graduation, so we are hoping that these presentations will help in that journey,” said Ms. Walker. “We also want students to realize that even though they are in junior high, it’s never too early to start thinking about what direction they want to take in the future.”
“We wanted to let our students see a variety of career options in a short, fun, interactive way,” said Mrs. Droz. “We hope that students are able to learn more about careers they are interested in, as well as gain knowledge about careers they may not have known about.”
Mrs. Distefano said that they started Windows to the Workplace because they wanted students to have more exposure to career information. “We want students to think about their futures, explore their interests, and gather information that will help them to make good decisions for themselves. By hosting career presentations, we are hoping that students will take the opportunity to learn about some occupations that may be interesting to them from people who work in those fields,” she said.
Once the counselors find someone to host the presentation, they schedule a time for them and hang up fliers around the school inviting students to come. According to Mrs. Droz, they have had many people come talk about their careers, including a radiologist, a police officer, a labor and delivery nurse, a marketing and product development vice president, a business owner, a pilot and flight instructor, a social worker, an online curriculum developer, and a landscape architect. Mrs. Distefano said that many of the presenters have been parents of students here at SJHS that volunteered. Others, she said, were sought out by the counselors. “On the Counseling Needs Assessment that students completed last month, we asked what careers students would like to learn about. We will be using those results to line up future presenters,” she added.
So if you see a sign in the hallway and are interested, feel free to come on down to the library! It is never too early to think about what careers you are interested in. As Ms. Walker said, “Even though graduation and adulthood may seem far away, the habits and choices [students] make now, positive or negative, will affect the future. I just hope that students can start to catch the vision now of how important it is to make good academic choices and start planning ahead for the future.”