Career Exploration for Juniors and Sophomores

All of our juniors and sophomores go to a 3 day job shadow we call Career Exploration. The purpose of the program is to help students begin to see what kinds of job possibilities might be available to them in the future. They go through the process of writing a resume, contacting a person in the community, and then sending their resume, cover letter, and contract to the potential supervisor. Once the paper work is done we work on logistics and what to wear.

The students then go to their respective "jobs". We (the faculty) get to visit them at their sites and see them in action. This year my advisees (a group I have every morning for homeroom for 4 years) are:

• at the NOAA (wonderful - as we had a Nor'Easter this morning)
• two are at bakeries (including a gluten free bakery)
• a physical therapist
• the DEA
• a vet 
• daycare center
• with an art teacher
• with a Director at the theater ( a very interesting schedule)
• at Maine Handicapped skiing
• at a printmaking/silkscreen business
• at marine biology aquarium

This diverse range of occupations represents the students' varied interests. Here's one example of what students are doing in the field. Students often are often asked to bring their laptops with them as they have to use them. One young man is at LLBean in the design department and was told that he would be creating a design for them. Last year we had some students put together a pitch for an advertisement.  The community is incredibly supportive of this program. We so appreciate them opening their business to our learners. 

Each students keeps a journal of what they did and interviews their supervisor. When they are done, we mail thank you notes. Later in the week, they will present to their parents and our advisor group. I can't wait to see their presentations! It's a great experience for everyone.

For information, here is the CEP website