160 High school students from six area schools including St. Gabriel the Archangel in Chestermere attended a unique and interactive career forum hosted by Junior Achievement of Southern Alberta on Thursday March.6 at the Strathmore Civic Centre.
The World of Choices (WOC) Career Forum featured 48 mentors representing 39 different career choices including politics, aviation, photography, finances and even entrepreneurship, just to list a few. Each mentor sat at a round table with four or five students at a time and had an open discussion about their profession. The small group sizes allowed students to ask more meaningful questions permitting them to examine further than a traditional career fair would typically allow.
Kerry Snatic, a Registered Social Worker from Chestermere Lifepath Wellness Centre was a mentor at the forum along with one of her colleagues, Maureen Speidel. The pair were there to represent Counselling and Psychological Services. “I absolutely love this, I’m excited because we really get to share our knowledge and allow people to ask questions to help them make an informed decision about their future”, says Snatic. “This is where I can make a difference, and I feel very grateful that I am able to participate.”
Cheryl Low, the Calgary Catholic School Trustee representing wards 9, 10 and Chestermere attended the event and felt it was very well organized, providing students with the opportunity to explore a wide variety of careers in multiple sectors. “The format of the event with roundtable discussion with a career mentor and peers really gives the students the freedom to ask the questions they have about each career as well as learn from the questions and discussion of the group”, says Low.
“Education is about providing students with opportunities to learn in ways that are meaningful and engaging. The Junior Achievement World of Choices event was an amazing event that not only provided students with an engaging learning opportunity but it also connected students and the community”, adds Low.
Students felt it to be very beneficial in seeking new opportunities but also allowed them the opportunity to find out more about their career choice.
“My favorite part was sitting with the lawyer, I liked that it was personal and you could actually ask questions that they were able to answer” says Veronica, a grade 11 student from St. Gabriel the Archangel school in Chestermere. “It helped me a lot, I was debating on becoming a lawyer but now I know that I really want to be one.”
“It was a great success overall and will now be expanding our committee to make the event bigger and better for 2015”, shares Wendy Gerbrandt, Program Coordinator, SE Prairie Region Junior Achievement of Southern Alberta. “We would like to thank our sponsors for the event including the Founding sponsor, Transalta; the Presenting Sponsor, Strathmore Lions Club; and the Student Participation Sponsor, Burnco Rock Products.”
For more than 50 years Junior Achievement has been engaging local business and community leaders in its mission to inspire and educate young Albertans to succeed in the global economy by providing them with opportunities to experience free enterprise; understanding business and economics; and develop entrepreneurial, financial literacy and leadership skills.
For more information on Junior Achievement visit www.southern-alberta.jacan.org.
