Career Day a first for Cunha kids
- May 30, 2014
By Julia Reis
Staff Writer, Half Moon Bay Review
In what may be a first in Cunha Intermediate School history — at least over the last 25 years — the site hosted Career Day on Thursday afternoon to get eighth-graders thinking about their lives after school.
The gym was a bustle of activity, with booths from big names such as eBay and GoPro as well as local professionals and small businesses. Students were required to fill out a worksheet with information about three career salaries, necessary education levels and more.
The event was propelled by what Principal Lalo Lopez thought was a need for a stronger career education component in the curriculum.
“Kids have to be able to know what’s at the end of the road,” Lopez said.
That means knowing what options depend on education, said Cunha Counselor Katharine Weber.
“It really opens students’ eyes to a variety of career fields,” Weber said. “Some require a lot of education, some don’t. We tried to have kids get a sampling of the whole range and have careers they might not have thought of.”
Nineteen professions were represented at Career Day, a few of which were touted by Cunha alumni.
Leilani Ortiz headed a booth about becoming a paralegal. She is finishing her paralegal certification at 麻豆传媒社区入口, East Bay.
“It’s nice to be back and let them know there is a lot they can do after high school,” Ortiz said. “A lot (of students) that have come over to the table don’t know what a paralegal is.”
Ortiz added that she believed Career Day would spark students’ thoughts of what they want to do for a career, which in turn will give them a leg up in high school.
“It will influence the kind of courses they take and underscore the importance of getting good grades and thinking about life after school,” she said.
Eighth-grader Carly Bunuan says she’s been mulling over becoming a doctor or anesthesiologist. She said the Industrial Light and Magic booth intrigued her because it means working on special effects in movies and includes a sizable salary.
“(Career Day) is important just so kids can see what’s out there,” Bunuan said.
Craig Shiraishi, a programs coordinator, and colleague Kim Gagnon, a facilities coordinator, represented GoPro at Career Day. They offered stickers and facts about the company along with various GoPro videos. Gagnon’s daughter attends Cunha, and Gagnon believes this was the company’s first involvement in a career fair.
“It’s exciting since GoPro was started in Half Moon Bay,” Gagnon said. “It’s fun to come back to your roots.”
“Because it started here, maybe kids can start thinking about cool inventions and how they can happen within their own town,” Shiraishi added.
Lopez said he’s hoping that Career Day inspired students to consider their futures and the possibility of creating their own jobs down the line.
“At the end of the day, where the economy is going we don’t know,” he said. “The whole idea is to have kids develop critical or creative thinking and hopefully come up with their own jobs.”