{"id":4122,"date":"2005-02-14T00:00:00","date_gmt":"1970-01-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=4122"},"modified":"2017-08-23T22:11:15","modified_gmt":"2017-08-24T05:11:15","slug":"for-professionals-career-day-a-full-circle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=4122","title":{"rendered":"For professionals, Career Day a full circle"},"content":{"rendered":"
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US Navy Capt. Ricks Polk, commanding officer of Afloat Training Group Middle Pacific answers questions from students during a Career Day at Iroquois Point Elementary School, courtesy Wikipedia Commons.<\/p><\/div>\n

Face to face with the past, adults turn kids’ attention toward their future<\/strong><\/h4>\n

I went back to high school last week.<\/p>\n

No, it wasn’t for a Fast Times at Ridgemont High<\/em><\/a> investigative article about San Marcos High School<\/a>. I was there for Career Day<\/a>, along with more than 240 other local professionals.<\/p>\n

I’m not sure how impressed the students were by the movers and shakers moving among them — including Goleta Mayor Jean Blois, Santa Barbara Mayor Marty Blum, Olympic volleyball star Dax Holdren, sculptor Bud Bottoms (of Dolphin Fountain fame) and Santa Barbara Fire Chief Warner McGrew — but I sure was intimidated, especially when I spotted the sleek race car that NASCAR driver Greg Voight brought along.<\/p>\n

Was that what they meant by props? All I brought with me was some copies of that week’s Beacon, which just happened to feature student body president — and Beacon intern — Eric Lauritsen on the cover.<\/p>\n

But when I reported to the King’s Page classroom, I immediately felt right at home. While the adviser, Cara Gamberdella, was a few decades younger than my adviser, Virginia Chennell, seemed when I was 15, she had the same efficiency Mrs. Chennell did, as she introduced me to the first group of students and simultaneously recruited new editors for the paper.<\/p>\n

I told the students the best way to find out if you’re cut out to be a journalist is to give it a try. There were definitely sparks in the eyes of a few students. They were the ones who asked good questions, like, “What’s your work environment like?” (Answer: Noisy, but fun.) and, “Do you spend a lot of time chained to your desk?” (Answer: No, as little as possible.)<\/p>\n

One girl, who I’m sure is destined to be an investigative reporter, even asked me how much money I made. (Answer: Not enough.)<\/p>\n

Another favorite question was, “What do you like about being a journalist?” As I told them, “It’s never boring and it’s really fun to do something different every day and be learning all the time.”<\/p>\n

Later when I peeked in on Chief McGrew’s presentation, he said something very similar about his career as a firefighter: “I can’t wait to get out of bed and go to work.”<\/p>\n

I hope those students get to go back to school and say the same thing someday.<\/p>\n

Originally published in South Coast Beacon on February 14, 2005.<\/a><\/h6>\n

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