Community Announcement: Redmond Students Explore Future Careers

From the :

Students at  and  had a special treat on Thursday, Feb. 23. The school held a career fair to encourage students to think about possible careers that interest them and learn what goals they need to set to reach those goals. School counselor Debra Wilson came up with the idea of a career fair in order to get students ready for their future. Wilder Elementary in Woodinville held a similar event on Feb. 22 (also coordinated by Debra Wilson) that included many of the same guest speakers.

“Many of these students will have jobs that don’t even exist now,” Wilson said. “We need to teach them the skills that they need to be future-ready, no matter what career they end up having."

She also expressed that it is important for parents and guardians to talk about work in a way that celebrates what you are doing—that you should be doing something that you enjoy. Students were encouraged to interview someone in their family about their jobs to get a better idea of what that person does for a living.

Career counseling is something that Wilson is passionate about. As a former high school counselor, she would often meet with students who had not made the right elective choices in their high school career to help them get into the colleges that they want to go to. By having an idea about what career paths interest you, you can better plan ahead for your high school classes and beyond. That can start as early as elementary school, by determining what skills or activities interest each student the most.

The guest speakers included: John and J.J. Ballew from Olympic Elevator Company; school nurses Elaine Sheppard and Joyce Roeder; Pastor Own Jacobsen from ; Jack Graham, the manager of a UPS Store; Sharon Brunelle from Brunelle Biotech Consulting; Lisa Massey, a pediatric nurse; former Seahawk Lawyer Milloy; Karen Galipeau-Forner, an attorney; John Brandy with Edward Jones; Jeff Dernbach, an interaction designer; Myrissa Yamishiro from ; Karen Barker, the school principal; Wendie Price-Jesson from Dr. Roos Orthodontics; Wendy Woolsey, a music therapist; car dealer Lance Carter; Jennifer Martyn, a physical therapist; Gene Oates from Intellectual Ventures Lab; and Jeff Riley, the CEO of Dinerware Restaurant Software. Gene Oates also served as the keynote speaker at an all-school assembly before students broke into smaller groups for the career day presentations.

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