Female high school students learn about options at career forum
With many career choices to choose from, the pressure of deciding on a profession can be daunting at a young age. The Junior Achievement’s World of Choices Career Forum had approximately 40 career mentors engage in roundtable conversations with about 200 high school girls from Lethbridge and area on Tuesday.
The 19th annual Career Forum held at the Enmax Centre helped inform youth about careers they might not have had the opportunity to consider previously. Their goal was to help participants feel better prepared to face challenges in the workforce.
The event for young women helped them learn about their desired profession’s qualifications, career possibilities, and gave them a good platform for networking opportunities.
Shelly Flexhaug, Lethbridge’s regional co-ordinator for Junior Achievement Southern Alberta, explained how students will get more knowledge on a career of their interest with the opportunity to meet with mentors.
“We hope they not only go to a career mentor for an area they’re interested in, but also that they step outside the box and go to a mentor for a job they may not have otherwise considered,” Flexhaug said.
Lethbridge and Calgary are the only two cities sticking with a “girls only” forum, to give high school girls the opportunity to meet entrepreneurial women who are successful in their careers.
One keynote speaker who inspired the crowd was RBC Olympic cycling athlete Kirsti Lay. The multi-medalwinning Olympian, in her second year of the RBC Olympian program, is also the Community Marketing & Citizenship liaison who works with RBC to get sponsorships and donations.
Wishing she had such an event to attend when she was in high school, Lay said the Career Forum is a great way for girls to ask questions faceto-face with mentors to help them in the future.
She encouraged girls to get outside of their comfort zone and see what’s out there because of the many exciting and different professions available.
“You just never know what your career path is going to be, and you have to be willing to take chances and put yourself out there even if you’re nervous and don’t like change,” Lay said.
LCI students and sisters, Jade and Jasmine Belisle, attended as a way to learn more about possible career choices.
Grade 10 student Jasmine liked how the event showcased many options for people who are unsure which path to take.
“Getting exposed to different opportunities and job paths that are possible is really good. If you come to an event like this, you can see a broad range of things that you could be doing,” Jasmine said.
She also found it interesting to hear how professionals balanced their personal life with their career, at the same time as finding an occupation they were passionate about.
Her sister, Grade 12 student Jade, feels the pressure of having to decide on a career and needing to think of options ahead of time.
“I have to make some decisions now, and I would like to make the most informed decision that’s best for me, both financially and the job itself,” Jade said.
Jade thinks that seeing how career mentors live their lives, and how each profession does it differently, will help her in her future decisions.
The event gave students the opportunity to expand their options, while learning about a variety of interesting occupations. Mentors also showed students that anything really is possible, when you put your mind to it.
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