On Monday, April 8th, Somerset Berkley hosted a Career Day for all students to attend during the school day. Over 40 guest speakers came to speak with students at Somerset Berkley from a variety of different professional backgrounds with the intent of getting students thinking about their futures and what potential career fields they may want to enter. Read on to get the first hand accounts of three students who attended a variety of interesting Career Day presentations.

Undergraduate College Admissions Professional (written by Ryan Rose)

For my first session of Career Day at Somerset Berkley, I attended a presentation by Shamika Cameron, an undergraduate college admissions professional at Harvard University. Mrs. Cameron began by introducing herself, telling students a little bit about her upbringing, her own college experience, and how she became a college admissions officer at a variety of institutions. In her presentation, Mrs. Cameron covered a wide range of topics including how admissions officers make college decisions, what different schools may look for in applicants, and how to make the most of high school and college. A good deal of time was spent covering what types of questions students should be asking themselves when making decisions about their futures and the idea that no single path of success could apply for every student was heavily stressed. One of the central themes of this presentation was that it is important for students to research what they specifically need to do in order to become the person that they would one day like to be and to simply do their best in high school, college, and beyond. 

Political Science and Government (written by Ryan Rose)

My next session of career day included a presentation from and discussion with Massachusetts State Representative Pat Haddad. Representative Haddad also began her presentation by introducing herself to students and detailing her past careers in education, business, and politics. Representative Haddad answered a variety of questions from students and in the process revealed a multitude of interesting tidbits of information. She talked about the need for Democrats and Republicans to work alongside one another civilly, her experience running for State Rep for the first time, and even how she met three U.S. presidents (Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden). In her presentation, Representative Haddad informed students that professionals who decide to have political careers can come from a variety of backgrounds. She spoke of various teachers, nurses, lawyers, and even a fisherman who all entered politics, bringing their unique perspectives to the table. Representative Haddad provided information for students that would be valuable for all members of the community and especially those who would one day like to have a career in politics themselves. 

Freshman College Students (written by Ashley Lin)

Henry and Henriet James presented during my second session of career day. As former SBRHS students, they presented in a way that was engaging and related their experiences to their audience. After introducing themselves, they asked students about their intended majors and pathways after graduation. Henry and Henriet also handed out sticky notes for students to write their questions, which will be collected and answered at the end of their presentation. Throughout their presentation, they talked about their experiences, the transition, and gave advice ranging from majors to involvement on campus. Their advice also included joining clubs, morning/afternoon classes, and just adapting to college life in general. Henry and Henriet also talked about their personal experiences, the clubs and activities that they’re involved in, and their campus life. They provided insight on how they balance their schedules of their clubs and activities with their classes and learning. After their presentation, they answered the questions on the sticky notes and gave students time to ask additional questions. Overall, Henry and Henriet emphasized that making friends and being involved really helps to ease the stress, and reassured us of our worries of transitioning to college.

College Student (written by Aisha Imran)

For my first session of career day at Somerset Berkley, I attended a presentation by Ross Marino who is a student at Suffolk University. Ross had a presentation on all the different types of things that you should expect in your first year of college. Ross had amazing structure on all his slides and he started sharing his college experience. He is a Sophomore in college and he talked about how his first year of college went for him and what he learned throughout the year. He talked about living in a dorm and how you had to be more responsible because you are living with another person. He said how it can be a different experience for many people because you have to get used to going back to your place and having someone else there. He talked about managing time and how you had to use your time wisely and know what your priorities are and you have to be able to fit them in your schedule. I liked how throughout the presentation Ross used great humor to keep everyone entertained. He also talked about how this was a huge step in becoming your own adult because you don’t have your parents by your side all the time telling you to do your work. He also touched on how to make friends in college and get out of your comfort zone and his speech was very motivating. After the presentation Ross asked everyone where they would be attending college and what they were majoring in. Ross gave great advice that I think everyone is going to find helpful in the upcoming years. 

Manager, Partnership Services (written by Aisha Imran) 

For my second session I attended a presentation by Josie Schmidt. Josie started off by introducing herself and telling us all about where she worked and how she got to where she is today. She graduated SBRHS in 2018 and went to the University of New Haven for Sport Management and then earned her Master’s degree at UMass Amherst. She talked about how she works with the Professional Women’s Hockey League and how she is in charge of  making sure that they have success by having partnerships with many companies. She works to bring creative ideas to life like working with the fan cams and noise meters in games. She also told us how in the past she directed all aspects of business operations and sales for the Nashua Silver Knights baseball team and managed events for Yale and Umass athletics. She really went in depth about the sports industry and how there is so much work and preparation that goes into planning a sports event. How you have to have an inspection of the entire stadium before any game, you have to make sure that you’re sponsoring the companies that you have partnerships with, and how you have to make sure that the event runs smoothly. She also said how her company sends out a survey after every game in order to get feedback from what went right and what didn’t and make sure they make improvements the next time they have a game. She also spent a lot of time telling us how we can start preparing now if we want a future career in the sports business.