Garrettsville – For the second year in a row, students in grades nine through twelve had the opportunity to learn about a variety of careers from local professionals and tradespeople. Those careers included over 40 individuals, with jobs ranging from an architect and an attorney to a mason and marketing manager, a statistician to a stylist, and careers ranging from a tattoo artist to a toy designer. The career paths were as varied as the interests of the students who attended the sessions.
“The staff has spearheaded this,” JAG High School Principal Kathleen Kisabeth marveled. She explained that last year, the building leadership team hosted the first iteration of the event. “This year, the entire staff pitched in,” she beamed, “reaching out to even more presenters and helping the event run smoothly.” French teacher Renee Chlysta shared, “ This event really brought the staff together. We’ve got grown kids of teachers from across the campus that’ve come to talk to our students,” she explained. “This has been wonderful!” Principal Kisabeth explained, “We get to expose kids to a wide variety of careers we wouldn’t be able to otherwise, and even if it rules something out, that’s valuable, too.”
Sophomore Grace attended sessions with attorney Gary Wayne Kisling, and scientific consultant Dr. Rena Meadows. During the remainder of the day, Grace met a statistician, a jewelry designer, and architect, and a toy designer. Her friend Jessica, also in grade 10, is more conflicted about her plans after graduation. She visited the US Military booth, as well as the stylist, fire chief, social worker, tattoo artist, and ER nurse. “I figured I might as well spread it out,” she explained, “since I’m still trying to figure it out.”
Several weeks before, students were asked to complete a survey selection sheet to choose the careers that most-interested them. They were able to fill a total of seven spots, with walking tours to nearby Kepich Ford and Just For Kids daycare, as well as panel discussions with recent graduates from James A. Garfield High School as options. Sessions were 25 minutes in length, giving ample time for student questions at the end of each session. The successful day was made possible through the efforts of many. Teachers and staff soliciting speakers from a variety of career paths in the months before hand. Presenters generously gave of their time to speak to students. That day, Student Council and National Honor Society students helped direct the many presenters throughout the building and worked with staff to help keep the event running smoothly.
From jewelry designer Sarah Kisher, the owner of Sarah Kisher Studios, students learned the value of high school experiences, like flexibility and good listening skills. She encouraged students to be willing to take risks in order to grow. She shared that this skill enabled her to use the knowledge learned over the years and leave the comfort and security of working for someone else to launch her own successful business. She calls on skills in inventory management and organization to efficiently and cost-effectively create well-constructed, well-designed pieces for her customers. Kisher sells her designs at art shows, markets, and museums and was selected as a local jeweler in a local high-end store; her pieces sell from $45 to $2,000. She noted the need to market her work and her business constantly, and explained that many activities outside of her specialty are involved. “And although I work for myself, my bosses are my clients, who continue to work with me due to the quality of my work, not just the style of my designs.” Kisher encouraged students that, “no matter what career you choose, capitalize on your skills and interests…and also work to improve your weaknesses.”
Architect Amanda Lee explained how her job of designing buildings depends on knowing about how others effectively do their jobs, including the draftsmen, engineers, contractors, construction managers, interior designers, and property managers. “A big part of my job is learning from them,” she shared. “I need to know enough about their jobs in order to effectively do my job.”
Toy designer Keary Knerem explained that in order to develop new products, he does research to investigate competitive products and price points. In creating designs, he must first determine what to create or how to make it more useful. Part of his role includes working with CAD, creating hand-made models, and working through tooling and the production process at overseas factories to see projects to finished pieces. This gave him the opportunity to better-hone communications skills and experiences the culture in various parts of the world. In whatever career they choose, Knerem encouraged students to take advantage of the many opportunities that their chosen career may offer.
Tenth-grader Elizabeth noted that during the attorney’s talk, he shared the story of a fellow attorney who attended trade school first, then used her trade as a plumber in order to finance the high cost of law school.
She also shared that she likes to cook and bake, which led her to select the session to hear the chef speak. She learned that in addition to those skills, that career also includes lots of math, as well as time and team management skills. “I didn’t really think about that,” Elizabeth quipped. “You’ve really got to make sure you love what you do, because you’ll be doing it for hours and hours.”
Charles Chlysta shared his love of fly-fishing with students. A retired biology teacher, Chlysta shared how he’s been able to capitalize on his hobby of fly fishing, turning it into a side hustle. He produces artificial flies used by fly fishing anglers, selling these hand-made lures to fishing shops in Michigan.
In the college panel, high school students had the opportunity to ask college questions of recent graduates. Topics ranged from selecting the right college and how to live in close proximity to a multitude of students in a co-ed dorm, where Katie shared, “half the hall smells like perfume, and the other half doesn’t smell so good.” Recent grad Alex advised, “you’re not the only one who doesn’t know anyone” when heading off to college.
Sophomore Austin had the opportunity to meet an athletic trainer and a chemical engineer. Garrett, a junior, met an electrician and shared, “that’s quite the career.” He noted, “it’s a very skilled job.” Given the opportunity to explore a variety of careers in other sessions, including careers that don’t require a college degree, Garrett noted that although he is unsure of his own career path, he knows “with hard work, anything is possible.”
