The new Spotlight Speaker Series seeks to help students make informed decisions about their futures, offering them the chance to learn directly from professionals in various fields. The initiative, which began this year, is designed to give students a broader perspective on potential careers and the paths they may take after graduation.
Assistant principal Keri Harrington is the driving force behind the speaker series. The idea stemmed from conversations with upperclassmen who were uncertain about their college majors and future careers. Harrington recognized many students lacked exposure to the wide range of career options available to them.
“I wanted to try to invite the outside in, to talk about different careers and give kids an opportunity to think about where they fit,” Harrington said. “My role was to develop the calendar, reach out to people I knew and work with others like Mrs. George to reserve the space and get everything organized.”
The program has involved a wide array of professionals, with many of the speakers being connections Harrington and other school staff have developed over the years. Most speakers were brought in through connections made by school staff.
“I’ve worked with people that I know from the community and reached out to see if they would be willing to participate,” Harrington said. “Moving forward, I plan to survey the students to get their input and adjust accordingly. If we continue the series next year, I’ll put out a list of possibilities and let the students choose who they’d be interested in hearing from.”
The Spotlight Speaker Series aims to help students, particularly those heading to college, think critically about their futures. For some, the series has reinforced their career interests. For example, junior Adilee Scott attended the law-focused session and found it particularly eye-opening.
“I’ve always kind of wanted to go into the law field, and the speaker gave a deeper look into the actual work, not just the general idea of it,” Scott said. “It definitely gave me a better outlook.”
Similarly, junior Aiden Aiken attended a session about physician assistants (PAs). While he had once considered pursuing this career, the event helped him explore alternative paths.
“After seeing the session on the PA profession, I’ve started to think more about marketing and advertising,” Aiken said. “The session on Sheetz Corporation also made me realize that there are a lot of other options out there.”
The Spotlight Speaker Series also serves as a chance for students to form connections with professionals in their fields of interest. For example, students interested in engineering were able to make contacts at Stiffler McGraw, and some inquired about possible employment and shadowing.
Harrington believes the program has already had a positive impact, noticing great progress made with some attendees.
“Some kids already knew that the careers they heard about were the right fit for them, while others were just there to listen and see if these paths might be a good match,” Harrington said. “It’s been really valuable for students to get a clearer picture of what different careers actually look like.”
Looking ahead, Harrington hopes the program will continue and expand upon what has already been done.
“I think it’s been a positive experience for students who are trying to figure out what they want to do after high school,” Harrington said. “It’s always good to hear from people who are already working in these fields to understand what the day-to-day reality is and what it takes to get there. I’m hopeful we can keep it going.”
