The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Seeing an array of careers, future of possibilities
High school job expo exposes students to wide range of opportunities
MIDDLETOWN — Roberto Tschudin Lucheme didn’t have any trouble drawing young people interested in learning about his trade of choice Tuesday morning at the Wesleyan University Freeman Athletic Center.
This attorney-turned chocolatier used his trademark dry humor to explain the allure of boutique chocolate making to students attending the high school career fair expo in Middletown.
“You don’t need any kind of degree. This is the kind of job you do while you’re in college, make some money, pay for your books, or weekend parties,” said Lucheme, owner of Tschudin Chocolates in Middletown.
“You can use it as an adjunct to a law practice: You can be a lawyer and a chocolatier, a filmmaker and a chocolatier, you can just eat chocolates, raise a family, eat more chocolate.
“I’ve combined it with other careers in the past. It’s like math, science and finger painting rolled into one,” Lucheme said, the joke perhaps lost amid the din of more than 1,500 people milling around the skating rink, learning about an array of career possibilities.
Of course, there was always the chocolate — samples of which he offered to any who passed by his table, where a strange and fantastical mahogany-colored sculpture stretched toward the sky, adorned with hearts in a faux-wood finish.
Students from Cromwell, Middletown, Durham, Middlefield, Haddam, Killingworth, Portland, East Hampton and other area schools had the opportunity to peruse tables, view demonstrations, and learn about jobs in a variety of sectors and even taste some homemade smoothies.
The smoothies were courtesy of the University of Hartford nutrition program booth, where college senior Stephanie Niles demonstrated a curious apparatus — a bicycle whose pedaling energy powers a blender with yogurt, bananas, strawberries, blueberries and spinach inside.
It was her first time using it.
When it came time for a demonstration, a nearby high schooler was more than happy to hop aboard to pedal the bike like a prize fighter warming up for the ring.
“Originally, I was a forensic science major,” Niles said. “I was all about the science, but then I realized I had an interest in food and health, so that’s what drew me in.
“I didn’t want to work with dead people, I wanted to work with live people — that’s my little joke,” she said. “I’m passionate about health and helping other people.”
The Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce’s Business & Education Partnership plans the event annually with the Middlesex Consortium of Schools, Eversource Energy, Pratt & Whitney, and Wesleyan University’s Jewett Center for Community Partnerships.
More than 280 career professionals were on hand to share their experiences with the students.
Like Janet Parmelee, school nurse at Macdonough Elementary School, who explained more specialized skills are required to care for students these days. Many take attention deficit disorder medications, use feeding tubes, diabetic pumps or ventilators, have asthma, peanut or other allergies, and an array of health issues, she said.
“Most of the time, you are the only medical person in the school, so we have to know quickly: Is this something we can deal with, or do we have to call 911? It’s a much more encompassing job.”
Coginchaug Regional High School students Jean Orosz and McKayla Murphy were making their way around the rink with Tim Smith, who attends Vinal Technical High School.
“This career fair really opened up my eyes to possible careers I may want to go into one day, but as of right now, I really don’t know,” Orosz admitted.
Both she and Murphy spent a lot of time at the insurance booth. The woman there “said her job is a lot of fun, and through the years, it’s gotten more interesting to do, and she doesn’t ever dread going to her job. It’s just something that appealed to me: It’s math-based and I like numbers a lot,” Murphy said.
“I’m interested in forensics, so I was talking to the Army National Guard,” said Smith, who studies electrical technology at Vinal and may one day become an electrician or linesman.
“They told me you can go into a career afterward, because they’ll pay for school while you’re there, and I can work in the Army in my field,” Smith said.
Funds to pay for college is a great incentive, he agreed. “It’s just nice not to have debt,” Smith said.
Allen Frank, a 10thgrader at East Hampton High School, visited the table where Channel 3 Reporter Susan Raff was stationed, where he asked questions about a job in the media.
“Is it reasonable? No. If I had the opportunity? Definitely,” Frank said about journalism as a possible career.
“My bet, if I were to place it on a college degree, I would place it on something a little bit more practical and maybe work off a hobby.”
Joan Fox, a Juice Plus distributor for the past 11 years, returned to the expo for the fourth year to the event.
“Most of them don’t understand what a franchise is,” she said of the students. “They want to understand how that works. I’m a virtual franchise — no bricks and mortar, so you can either get dressed and go out or you can sit at home in your pjs.”
Counselor Monique Proto, who works at Connecticut Valley Hospital and employs art therapy in her profession, had copies of mandalas printed out that participants could color. These, she said, promote relaxation and stress reduction.
“Something that you’re not consciously thinking about could come out in the art and then you can process it,” Proto said.
“Going through school, we’re judged on our artwork and our abilities. We’re graded, and if we don’t get a good grade, we lose the desire to create.”
Many people think they’re not artistically inclined, Proto acknowledged.
“We say it’s not about the quality of your art, it’s the process and the experience you had while doing it. That’s what surprises people: They go into it thinking ‘I couldn’t do this’ and then after they say, ‘Oh, my gosh. This is great.’”