MEMBERS OF THE Wakefield Memorial High School (WMHS) junior class and local business professionals gather before setting off for the Ninth Annual WMHS Job Shadow Day. (Joanne Gallardo Photo)
Published in the April 21, 2016 edition.
By MARISSA HOFFMAN
WAKEFIELD — The infamous and ever-hated decision of choosing what to do with your life: as an upperclassman, the question looms in the air, like a cumulus cloud that won’t go away.
For juniors, deciding what college you want to go to (if at all) and a possible major are what dominate the year. Fortunately, we have a day like Job Shadow Day to help us out. Mr. Robertson, a guidance counselor at Wakefield Memorial High School (WMHS), helped start the Job Shadow Day program nine years ago.
“I always urge students to pursue their passion no matter what. They need to know it is acceptable to change your career. I went from accountant to guidance counselor and now I love what I do,” offers Mr. Robertson.
Since its beginning, the program has grown immensely. Job Shadow Day features a variety of different employers from Wakefield and surrounding areas, opening up their insights to juniors at WMHS who are interested in learning about them. Recently, we had the opportunity to venture out of school for a day and experience the professional world for ourselves during this year’s Job Shadow Day. I plan on studying Communications in college, and Joanne Gallardo is interested in photography. I had the opportunity to conduct interviews with other students and their “employers” while Joanne took photographs of the day’s events. We were able to experience a day in the working life of a full-service public relations business.
This was a “win-win” situation, and I felt fortunate to have shadowed Ann Hadley and Dayna McCoubrey of JC Marketing Associates in Wakefield and get to share my Job Shadow Day experience with you.
Beginning the day at the high school with a welcoming breakfast, students were seated, waiting nervously as employers arrived. There were employers from a variety of occupations. I was introduced to a genetic researcher, a physical therapist and a travel agent in the first few minutes. Almost immediately, the weighing pressure of the career hunt seemed less nerve wracking. The first big event of the morning was a speech by School Committee member Evan Kenney. It was enthralling to hear Kenney speak, and his words spoke volumes to the crowd. At only 22 years old, Kenney is chief of staff to the Amesbury mayor and holsters many other skills under his belt.
Kenney left us with one specific piece of advice. “I worked hard to get where I am today. If I hadn’t started into politics and gotten a jumpstart in high school, I don’t know where I would be today.”
Then, we were off, still looking around unsteadily, wondering what the day would bring. Dressed in our most professional attire for high schoolers, we got in our old sedans and minivans, entering the addresses into our GPS and speeding away.
Throughout the day, I had a chance to interview different employers as well as students. Let it be clear that I am petrified of any discussions of the future, mostly having to do with my parents pestering me about college, the SATs and other topics related to my future. Over the course of these few hours, I learned some things that changed my mindset.
My first interview was with HD Physical Therapy. Ed Harding, the owner, was extremely welcoming to me when I asked to talk with him. Located right on Lake Quannapowitt, HD Physical Therapy is a very nice facility. As I walked in, there were various therapists and trainers working with patients for different problem areas. The patients seemed as happy as they could be, and each of the employees seemed genuinely passionate about what they were doing. Talking to Ed, I learned that the local business had been there for four years. Ed talked to me about his involvement in the community and how each time he hosted a student, they both benefitted from the experience. Ed summarized his interest in participating in the Job Shadow Day by stating, “Physical Therapy is an ever-evolving field and I like to offer my guidance to students interested in any way possible.”
Heading out into the rainy outdoors, we set off to town hall to meet with Wakefield Town Administrator Steve Maio. I found Mr. Maio to possess a passion for working with the youth of Wakefield and he has a long history mentoring students. As a kid, Mr. Maio described having guest speakers come in and inspire him, but never like the Job Shadow Day program in place today.
The first thing he said to me was, “You better interview this guy over here, the man of the hour.” Mr. Maio was referring to WMHS junior Calvin Connor, the student shadowing him for the day. Having spoken to Calvin, I was provided with a new insight on what this day meant to students like me. “You really get to see a different perspective,” Calvin stated. “I have always wanted to study business and I was actually approached for this opportunity. You never know what will come your way.”
On the other end of the spectrum, Holiday Travel is a great business here in Wakefield which I knew little about, unfortunately, due to my lack of traveling. Suzanne Bowering, the owner, is a welcoming and sweet woman with a passion for helping others. Suzanne says that she does this for the rewarding experience. “Students have come back to visit me after shadowing me for just this one day. It’s wonderful to see the impact.” Shadowing Suzanne was Jay Parece, a junior looking to own his own business someday. Jay mentioned to me, “Holiday Travel is a locally owned small business. You are your own boss, which is probably my life goal. I really want to gain responsibility and see what it takes. And if you do what you love, it’s worth it.”
The last stop on my tour of Job Shadow Day sights was a visit to the Public Safety Building. As I walked into the fire station, I noticed right away I would not be able to speak to the students, who were, in fact, getting suited up in firefighting gear. Talking with Chief Sullivan gave me a nice perspective. As a third generation firefighter with already 31 years on the job, he genuinely loves what he does. I observed the smile that crossed his face watching the students try on the gear. All of the nostalgia in the building is incredible as well. When a firefighter from the old building retires, the force is able to gift to him a plaque with a piece of the fire pole from the old fire house. Everyone works together on that team and they have fun doing it.
Recounting these events, I have gained an enormous amount of knowledge. Before, I was under the impression that changing careers or majors was a scary process, and people would judge you for not “sticking with it.” As I came to find out, there are all different types of people out there. Steve Maio changed career paths three times, until he found what was right for him. Suzanne, on the other hand, was in love with travel since the beginning and dreamed of being a flight attendant.
The moral I take out of this story is, it is your own life and you can choose what you want to do. Do not have people choose for you based on their assumptions. Job Shadow Day is the perfect way to attain real life experience from the people who have reached their occupation goals and love what they do. All of the people involved in this event love the town and hope to see it prosper even more than it currently does.
I found this desire was the main reason for their involvement in the Job Shadow Day. So, as a result of this experience, my fellow students and I were able to gain some role models and future job contacts, on top of learning about an industry you are interested in.
