On Wednesday, May 21, Harriton hosted its annual career symposium for students in grades ten and eleven. Sophomores and juniors first went to their advisory classrooms to find out which career panels they would be attending.

Students were then dismissed to the auditorium for a keynote presentation by Rob Miller, a personal trainer who owns CrossFit Delaware Valley and CrossFit Harmony. After the assembly, students set out to find their assigned locations and learn about career options. Approximately 100 professionals from around the area comprised the group of career panelists.

Junior Ben Seltzer attended the Performing Arts and Entertainment and Psychology career panels.

HB: What made you choose these career panel(s)?

BS: Spending most of the last three years being deeply involved in music and theater, it was easy to choose Performing Arts, and I’ve always had an interest in how people think and feel, so Psychology seemed like it would be interesting.

HB: What did you learn at the career symposium this year?

BS: I think that the most valuable message of the career symposium is that you have to love what you do. All of the panelists that spoke to me seemed to really enjoy their jobs, and as a result, were able to work hard at their craft without becoming tired of it. It seemed that their passion is what was necessary to their great success.

HB: Did the symposium influence which careers you may want to pursue in the future?

BS: Overall, the success of the career symposium was showing me the huge amount of professions within one field, and showing me the options that I had for my future. Knowing that I have a lot of choices for my future, even within just one field, is a great comfort, and it definitely influenced my future career choice.

Meanwhile, sophomore Ali Zamsky took a closer look at Engineering and Environmental Science.

HB: What made you choose these career panel(s)?

AZ: I chose engineering because a few months ago I went to an engineering convention called GEARS Day at Penn. I really enjoyed it so I wanted to learn more about that. I chose Environmental Science because I love science and I used to really want to be a marine biologist. Studying the ocean and how our earth works and how humans affect it is really cool.

HB: What is the most valuable thing you learned at the career symposium this year?

AZ: At engineering, a man said to answer the question “I want to be an engineer” and if our answer was no, then we should definitely not become an engineer. This was valuable because it really made me think about what I wanted to study in college and do with my life that I would enjoy and honestly say that I want to be in that profession.

HB: Did the symposium influence your thinking about careers you may want to pursue?

AZ: The symposium opened my eyes to more choices that I had in the workforce. I was able to learn about careers that I had never heard of before, which made me realize that there is so much more I can study and learn about than I ever thought. I realize that I could have a career studying or doing almost anything, which is refreshing.

Junior Jamie Song spent the career symposium at the Animal Science and Science panels.

HB: What made you choose these career panel(s)?

AZ: I chose Science because I wanted to get a broader view of what careers in science look like, given my interest in a range of science subjects.

HB: What is the most valuable thing you learned at the career symposium this year?

AZ: The most valuable thing I learned…is that veterinary medicine can be just as gross as human medicine.

HB: Did the symposium influence your thinking about careers you may want to pursue?

AZ: Going to the Animal Science panel dissuaded me from pursuing that career.

Junior Kayla Trimble attended the NGO/Non-profit and Culinary career panels to explore career possibilities for the future.

HB: What made you choose these career panel(s)?

KT: I chose culinary because that is something I might want to do in the future.

HB: What is the most valuable thing you learned at the career symposium this year?

KT: I learned that for every job, at least for my placements, there are both positives and negatives. Every career requires some kind of sacrifice, which eventually will benefit you and your career.

HB: Did the symposium influence your thinking about careers you may want to pursue?

KT: The symposium gave me a closer look at what I want to do in the future and has definitely made me want to pursue culinary as a career even more.

Sophomore David Naftulin attended the Politics and Attorneys career panels.

HB: What made you choose these career panel(s)?

DN: I am incredibly strong-willed and I am very vocal in my beliefs, so I felt that those careers would best suit my personality. I wanted to learn a little more about them to see if I was interested.

HB: What is the most valuable thing you learned at the career symposium this year?

DN: I met a man named Scott Zelov, who is a County Commissioner. It was very cool because I had gone into the voting booth with my parents the night before for the Republican primaries, and I had seen his name on the ballot. It’s always cool to be able to say that you actually had a conversation with someone who is in such an important position and is in elected office. But to answer your question, I learned that I don’t want to be a lawyer.

HB: Did the symposium influence your thinking about careers you may want to pursue?

DN: Rebounding off of what I just said, I learned that I don’t want to be a lawyer. No offense to the lawyers out there (my mom is a lawyer), but the profession often involves exploiting people for personal gain, which I find completely not okay. Also, a huge part of law is defending people in court, even when you know deep down that the person you are defending is guilty. I personally cannot morally justify doing that.

The career symposium enabled students to learn about careers relating to their interests, and provided them with an opportunity to explore new occupational possibilities. Thank you to the professionals who took time out of their workdays, as well as to the Harriton faculty, staff, and parents who made this day possible!