Young Students Get Jump Start on Career Learning

Children will often hear the question “What do you want to be when you grow up?” but they may not have any real idea of what type of career they want to pursue until they get much older.

With this in mind, educators at wanted to expose students to some of the careers they may already be taking an interest in. Lincoln School fourth grade teacher Samantha Brander said they wanted to infuse career education into the school’s curriculum to give them a realistic view of what the real world is like. With that they put together the first-ever career day event for students in third, fourth and fifth grade.

A lot of planning went into setting up this career day, Brander said adding that the work began in October of last year. She she worked closely with Christina Bari at to get their career day ideas off the ground.

Brander said they surveyed the students by asking them to pick out the top three careers they might be interested in learning more about. They then set out to find as many professional as possible in the students’ areas of interests to give the students the “elementary truth” about what they do and what it takes, explained Brander.

Lincoln School welcomed eight professionals representing careers like law enforcement, the medical professional and fashion and the arts on Thursday morning. Each class had the opportunity to hear from three of the speakers, giving them a taste for different careers.

Follow Hasbrouck Heights Patch on Facebook or Twitter. For news straight to your inbox sign up for the daily newsletter.

Kevin Mullins, a financial advisor, walked the students through simple ways of understanding the ways one could invest his or her money in the best way possible. Students interacted with local artist Lisa Ferrante who showed some of her works and also walked them through an artistic exercise.

Hasbrouck Heights Police Chief Michael Colaneri spoke to the students about his career in law enforcement and the different roles he’s played over the years as a patrolman, a detective and now chief. As a police officer he’s seen everything from thefts, burglaries, babies being born in the back of a vehicle to unfortunate accidents that may lead to one’s death, he explained.

The students got a sense of what the fashion world is like from Lisa Pisano, a professional in fashion marketing. Frank Schneider a post master based out of Sussex County addressed the students on the many different positions one could pursue with the USPS.

Dr. Dan Eisenberg, a veterinarian, spoke to the students about what it’s like to treat animals. Mike Mertz, a volunteer fire fighter from out of the area, showed the students what it’s like to gear up for the job and gave them some insight into what it’s like to run to an emergency or assistance in weather emergencies such as the big snowstorm that hit the area last October

Ed Victolee who works in the business side of the art world walked students through some of the basics of drawing by having them join him in sketching the famous painting “The Scream.”

Brander said Hasbrouck Heights Police Captain Jack Delorenzo and Detective Alan Baker also spoke to students earlier in the day.

Students were given worksheets to use to jot down notes about some of the speakers they heard from. At the end of the day they were asked to write about what their dream jobs would be and to draw a little picture of what they would like in their career of choice, Brander explained.