Eighth grade students from Lynbrook North Middle School and Lynbrook South Middle School joined together virtually to explore different career paths during the district’s annual middle school career fair on April 30. Coordinated each year by South Middle School guidance counselor Jennifer Arena and North Middle School guidance counselor Alexandra Etra, the career fair typically takes place in-person and features various speakers that stop into middle school classrooms during the school day to teach students about their interesting careers.
Despite being virtual this year, the career fair was a success as students from both middle schools participated using their technological devices either at school or at home. Four presenters spoke with the students via Cisco Webex throughout the morning about their careers and personal experiences. Speakers included Lynbrook High School social worker and transition coordinator Rosanne Bogard, construction surveyor Michael Silverstein, forensic scientist Karen Dooling and CEO and founder of the Gourmet Ghee Company/Lynbrook parent Nazia Aibani-DeFrank.
Each presenter shared information about what they do for a living and how they got to this point in their careers. This included talking about their own backgrounds, education and training. The students received words of wisdom through each presenter’s session. They learned the importance of networking, jumping at opportunities and that your plan A can sometimes turn into a plan B. The middle schoolers were able to ask questions throughout the sessions and enjoyed exploring new career options that they may not have known about before.