Career’s Day: Paving the Way to Successes

5 March 2024Christian M, Privett ‘26

With Brentwood opening countless opportunities for its students, many of us often find ourselves struggling to choose our future career path. The professional world is constantly changing with new jobs created and old jobs being rendered obsolete or replaceable by AI, therefore the question of “What do I want to do?” can be daunting in the eyes of many students.

Luckily, Brentwood does supply the resources to help uncertain students condense their passions into a career path that interests them. Although some students may, from their arts, academic, and athletic classes, already have an idea of what they want to do in the future, Brentwood additionally reserves Careers Day where Brentwood alumni, parents and friends visit the school to give lectures and speeches about things such as what their job entails, how they got to where they are now, and how life is in their shoes. All of this is done to help students get a feel for what path they want to follow in life.

Ms Jess Beausoleil, the Career’s Day organizer, believes that “It’s important for students to learn about different post-secondary pathways and explore career possibilities, some of which they may not even know exist. Career’s Day also allows students to interact with our alumni and parent community, allowing them to make valuable connections with people who have made a lasting impression on them”.

This year, Brentwood has the pleasure of hosting various graduates with jobs in fields such as neuroscience, business, psychology, the environment, etc. with many of them attaining high-level positions such as CEOs and Co-founders. Some students, influenced by the strong voices of Brentwood graduates, spark their ambition from a small flame to a wildfire. One student from last year, Dylan M, Privett ‘24, says “Career’s Day helped me decide what I wanted to pursue on a post-secondary level. I remember one of the speakers I attended was an ER surgeon and they really left an impact on me and influenced my decision to try and pursue medicine in college. I think I felt a lot more motivated to do better in school after that”.

“I was thrilled with the quality of the presentation of Diya Courty-Stephens” bubbled Mr Ganley. “She is able to fuse her passion for the environment with venture capital and technology in both her professional and her volunteer life.”

After students attended speakers’ sessions, Ms Beausoleil organized the Job Fair where students were given the opportunity to gain job opportunities, allowing them to earn work experience, some pocket money, and most importantly, new skills. “I think the Job Fair allows students to have a wider reach outside of the two sessions they signed up for. It allows them to have more informal conversations with all of the speakers and have something a little more interactive and on their feet. They can choose what they want to do with that time” expresses Ms Beausoleil.

Thanks to all of the wonderful speakers and Ms Beausoleil for spending countless hours in preparation for this event. It is clear that every student has a bright future ahead of them – with Careers Day as a resource.

Christian M, Privett ‘26

Where Students Choose To Be