Hoboken High's Juniors Spend A Day In The Real World

The idea came to Greg Dell'Aquila, landlord of the Hoboken Business Center on 50 Harrison St. and former President of the Rotary Club, about four weeks ago: why  not bring High School students to the business, instead of bringing the business to them?

When thinking of a Career Day, the first image that comes to mind is that of a stuffy gym filled with tables and representatives. Instead, Dell'Aquila said, he wanted the students to experience a day in the office, to know what an office environment feels like. 

"The whole idea of Career Academy is to create more of a 'real life' experience for these children," Dell'Aquila said in a press release. 

The students attended three sessions at different businesses throughout the building. At 2 p.m. the participants gathered in a tent in front of the building to fill out the evaluations, before going home with their big white ("too big for the garbage," according to Dell'Aquila) binders. 

"I got a lot of information I needed," said Anthony Giovini, an 18-year-old junior at Hoboken High. He said he wants to become a music producer. And although the day in the business center was helpful, he said, "I don't see myself sitting behind a desk all day." 

Giovini said he especially enjoyed learning about event planning, as well as learning about what life has in stock after graduating high school. 

One of the main goals of the day (advertised as Hoboken Career Academy), Dell'Aquila said, was to provide children with leadership. 

The Career Academy kicked off at 9 a.m. with a motivational speech by Gary Tuerack, founder of the Society of Success and Leadership (also housed in the Business Center).

Before arriving at the center on Tuesday, the students were given a personality assessment test to match them up with the appropriate companies in the building. All the participating businesses were marked with red balloons outside their doors. 

Maurice Fitzgibbons who operates his PR firm Fitz Media in the Hoboken Business Center said the day was a success and said he saw a couple of talented students walk through his office. 

"This is unlike any career day," said Fitzgibbons.