50p
Calling All Careers
The question that any kid will get asked most in life is “What do you want to be when you grow up?” This question always comes with the same vague answers: dentist, doctor, astronaut, or maybe even a vet. But I know that personally, those were just things that I would say to keep the questions at bay, because even now as I am approaching my last year of high school, I still have no clue what I want to be when I grow up.
I know that I am not alone when it comes to my future feeling far off and vague. Sure, I know that I would like to go to university, but do I really know what knowledge I will come out of university with? There are very few students who do know what they want to do for sure, but the rest of us are intimidated by the future that is coming faster than we would like.
Luckily for us, the staff at Brentwood are aware of just how nerve wracking that question is, and know exactly how heavy the stress of providing ambiguous answers is, so they do everything in their power to help us come to a conclusion of what we would like to pursue. One useful event that we get to experience is Careers Day, when a variety of Brentwood alumni hold sessions explaining their careers and what their jobs really look like. Moselle L, Allard ‘21, acknowledges that “Careers Day is an important event for all students at Brentwood” and she is “grateful that [she] was lucky enough to hear from so many successful people as it is very inspiring!” A big thanks goes out to Ms Amy Weinberg and Ms Jessica Beausoleil, who worked hard to coordinate this event!
This year, due to Covid, all of the speakers hosted their sessions via Zoom. Each student got to choose to go to two sessions after being given a list of all the participants and a quick explanation of what they might be talking about. Since everything was held virtually, there were more speakers than ever before, so everyone had a lot of variety when it came to choosing their sessions. This year, I was excited with the choices of speakers, and I ended up going to Mr Jim Stewart’s session where he talked about his job as a Crown Prosecutor, and Ms Julie Hawrishok’s session, where she talked about her duties working for nonprofit organizations such as Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Ottawa. I chose to hear from these very contrasting speakers because I know that both of those career paths are something I am interested in, and listening to them really gave me insight on what their jobs entail.
In Mr Stewart’s session, I learned about being a Crown Prosecutor, along with the benefits and burdens of the job. I also learned about what going to law school is like, and all the hard work one must put in before committing to the role of being a lawyer. I came out of Ms Hawrishok’s session with a better understanding of what working for nonprofit companies is like, what a normal day in her life looks like, as well as how to fundraise effectively with the use of storytelling, and what I can do both now and in the future if I would like to pursue a career that is similar to hers. One thing that I am grateful for is that Mr Stewart, Ms Hawrishok, and all of the other speakers are available to continue with conversations through Brentonian Connect - a very useful resource.
Each speaker was hosted by a teacher, which was helpful to get students organized and ready to go on time. Ms Murray hosted Ms Hawrishok, and Ms Reynolds hosted Mr Stewart, which helped the speakers and students feel more comfortable and ready to interact with their audience. Mr Ganley was lucky enough to host Mr Nick Chesterley, a Director of Strategic Policy and Treasury Board Secretariat at the Government of Canada. Mr Ganley noted that Mr Chesterley was “Interesting, well prepared, highly accomplished and very modest. I think the students appreciated his willingness to talk about his university experience, and his work with the Government of Canada.” Without Mr Ganley and the rest of the teachers who hosted speakers, Careers Day would not have been the success that it was.
Careers Day ended with the Old Brentonian Awards Ceremony which recognized three Brentwood alumni who are thriving in their careers today. It was so influential for students to see how successful these hard-working people are, and I think that it was a good way to end the day.
Careers Day was a huge success, and having the opportunity to hear from so many people is something that all Brentwood students appreciate. I can easily say that after attending the event, my future seems less daunting.
Emily N, Allard ‘22
I know that I am not alone when it comes to my future feeling far off and vague. Sure, I know that I would like to go to university, but do I really know what knowledge I will come out of university with? There are very few students who do know what they want to do for sure, but the rest of us are intimidated by the future that is coming faster than we would like.
Luckily for us, the staff at Brentwood are aware of just how nerve wracking that question is, and know exactly how heavy the stress of providing ambiguous answers is, so they do everything in their power to help us come to a conclusion of what we would like to pursue. One useful event that we get to experience is Careers Day, when a variety of Brentwood alumni hold sessions explaining their careers and what their jobs really look like. Moselle L, Allard ‘21, acknowledges that “Careers Day is an important event for all students at Brentwood” and she is “grateful that [she] was lucky enough to hear from so many successful people as it is very inspiring!” A big thanks goes out to Ms Amy Weinberg and Ms Jessica Beausoleil, who worked hard to coordinate this event!
This year, due to Covid, all of the speakers hosted their sessions via Zoom. Each student got to choose to go to two sessions after being given a list of all the participants and a quick explanation of what they might be talking about. Since everything was held virtually, there were more speakers than ever before, so everyone had a lot of variety when it came to choosing their sessions. This year, I was excited with the choices of speakers, and I ended up going to Mr Jim Stewart’s session where he talked about his job as a Crown Prosecutor, and Ms Julie Hawrishok’s session, where she talked about her duties working for nonprofit organizations such as Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Ottawa. I chose to hear from these very contrasting speakers because I know that both of those career paths are something I am interested in, and listening to them really gave me insight on what their jobs entail.
In Mr Stewart’s session, I learned about being a Crown Prosecutor, along with the benefits and burdens of the job. I also learned about what going to law school is like, and all the hard work one must put in before committing to the role of being a lawyer. I came out of Ms Hawrishok’s session with a better understanding of what working for nonprofit companies is like, what a normal day in her life looks like, as well as how to fundraise effectively with the use of storytelling, and what I can do both now and in the future if I would like to pursue a career that is similar to hers. One thing that I am grateful for is that Mr Stewart, Ms Hawrishok, and all of the other speakers are available to continue with conversations through Brentonian Connect - a very useful resource.
Each speaker was hosted by a teacher, which was helpful to get students organized and ready to go on time. Ms Murray hosted Ms Hawrishok, and Ms Reynolds hosted Mr Stewart, which helped the speakers and students feel more comfortable and ready to interact with their audience. Mr Ganley was lucky enough to host Mr Nick Chesterley, a Director of Strategic Policy and Treasury Board Secretariat at the Government of Canada. Mr Ganley noted that Mr Chesterley was “Interesting, well prepared, highly accomplished and very modest. I think the students appreciated his willingness to talk about his university experience, and his work with the Government of Canada.” Without Mr Ganley and the rest of the teachers who hosted speakers, Careers Day would not have been the success that it was.
Careers Day ended with the Old Brentonian Awards Ceremony which recognized three Brentwood alumni who are thriving in their careers today. It was so influential for students to see how successful these hard-working people are, and I think that it was a good way to end the day.
Careers Day was a huge success, and having the opportunity to hear from so many people is something that all Brentwood students appreciate. I can easily say that after attending the event, my future seems less daunting.
Emily N, Allard ‘22