Career Day: An Exploration of New Heights

Written by Charleen Julian Bun 9D & Chrystal Chantallice 9D | 23 September 2024

The 21st of August was a truly special day, where ninth-grade Mentarians were able to discover and explore a variety of interesting career paths, gain new knowledge, insights and inspiration and participate in many exciting hands-on activities. We would first select the workshops that we wanted to attend, with the options being; Game Art & Design, Figurine & Illustration, Creative Business in the Music Industry, Basics of Photography & Content Creation, and lastly the High Protein Chocolate Bar, a workshop on Food Sciences. Career Day began with an inspirational opening address from the globe-hopping life coach, Frederich N. Suroso, who explored and provided insightful viewpoints on what goals are as well as the importance of a good mindset in reaching them. Frederich’s workshop lasted 2 hours, where his presence during the Grade 9 Career Day left a massive impact, providing encouragement for Mentarians to always voice their thoughts, strive to reach their goals and step out of their comfort zone.

Following his motivational lecture, which filled us with excitement and energy, we felt quite eager and prepared to attend the many workshops which lay ahead of us, of which we would participate in two separate sessions of our choosing. Each workshop lasted 45 minutes and allowed students to enhance their awareness of various career paths while also expanding their interests, having fun while being able to explore the different career pathways available to us. For example, in the Figurine & Illustration class, students were expected to make apparel and explore various concepts of fashion with a limited amount of resources such as magazines, fabric, and art supplies. Another unique session, the High Protein Chocolate Bar, allowed students to not only sample various cuisines and sweets, but also learn about the scientific efforts behind them and infuse protein into foods that would normally be considered junk food, utilizing technology and science to positively impact the things we eat.

To conclude career day, we took an online assessment in which we answered approximately 50 questions regarding our skills, abilities, and personality, and we were then given an analysis of our skills and abilities in the social, physical and creative areas, helping us to set a basis for our goals, helping us recognize our strengths and weaknesses, all of which have ultimately left us with a lasting impression.