By Heather Hilyer/For the Reporter 

CALERA – On the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 19, Calera High School was abuzz with excitement.

The enthusiasm wasn’t from the upcoming holiday season – it was Career Day, and students could not wait to get started. The central office bustled as speakers from various occupations signed in and were escorted to their rooms by the Calera peer helpers.

All in all, 31 speakers from a wide array of fields spent their day sharing their experiences with students.

“We sought out speakers based on online surveys given to our students.  We then matched students with four speakers within their career interests,” said Doug Cound, Calera High counselor and Career Day coordinator.

“I was excited for Career Day because it’s a chance to hear in detail from people who have been where I am right now, and decided to choose their career path early. Now they are experienced in their job and can tell us the positives and negatives of that job. Plus you may hear something about a job you had never considered before which opens up new windows of life to explore,” senior Dylan Bryan said.

Students had a wide array of jobs to learn about, including marine biologist, specialty teacher, nurse, crime scene investigator and more. Weeks before Career Day took place, students were asked to select their preferred speakers and the Calera High staff did their best to match their schedules.

Career Day helps Calera High students to envision their future and to set them on a possible career path.

“As a senior going to college next year and beginning to consider what to do with the rest of my life, Career Day helped me see that there are many opportunities out there that benefit me financially and are what I enjoy doing,” senior Rachel Jackson said.

Making these life changing decisions is a very crucial step to a successful future and with the help of all the volunteers on career day, all students can get a head start and determine what they want to do with their lives.

“I think it was vital for our students to receive first-hand information about specific careers in each of the main career clusters, which they begin exploring in ninth grade in their Career Preparedness classes.  Students gain a realistic appraisal of the world of work including its challenges and demands in the process, and that speaks to our mission of ‘Every child a graduate and every graduate prepared,’” Cound said.

Heather Hilyer is a Calera High School senior.