Career Day
Community Leaders Teach Little Longhorns the Importance of Education for Future Careers
Several community leaders from Austin, Texas, spoke to The University of Texas Elementary School students about the importance of staying in school and working hard towards academic goals in order to reach career goals.
In an effort to encourage young students to begin thinking about the variety of career options available to them once they have completed college and what they must do in school to achieve those options, fourth-grade teacher Nefertiti Williams spearheaded Career Day in May of 2008, a trend that continued this year and will continue each spring.
Speakers from the community spoke to students about the importance of education in vocations, subject areas in school that are used in real-life work, and how different types of companies or employers affect their communities.
Ms. Williams said “Career Day helps our students to think about a variety of vocational options available to them, subject areas in school that are used in real-life work, and how different types of companies or employers affect their communities. Having upstanding members of the community come and do a ‘show and tell’ about their job and how they use their education is really illuminating to our students; and makes them excited about being an engineer, a veterinarian, a nurse or a midwife.”
Speaking to elementary classrooms were nurse and midwife Brigitte Alexander, attorney Melissa Brackin, adoption counselor for the Austin Humane Society Cassie Chapa, architect Troy Contreras, engineer Susan Dawson, emergency room doctor Craig DeWaal, firefighter Kintaro Inovejas, veterinarian surgeon Kirk Lewis, artists Karie Hughes and Shanny Lott, writer and UT professor Nastaran Kherad, CFO of the Lance Armstrong Foundation Greg lee, CEO of the Lance Armstrong Foundation Betty Nickerson, natural science program coordinator for the Lower Colorado River Authority Pat Olsen, and martial arts instructor Larry St. Clair. We are very appreciative of their time and consideration to help us continue our dream from Pre-K to Ph.D.!
