Students at Carl J. Lamb Elementary School had the opportunity to learn about various careers during the school's Career Day held Friday, May 2nd.
Throughout the day, local professionals visited classrooms to share information about their jobs and answer questions from students.
"Career Day provided an exceptional opportunity for our students to envision ambitious futures and recognize the real-world applications of their classroom learning. It also served as a source of inspiration for our staff, reinforcing the vital role we play in guiding students toward a promising future," Carl J. Lamb Principal Sherri Baron said. "We extend our sincere gratitude to our Career Day Coordinator, Sam Brink, whose efforts were instrumental in making this event a success, as well as to our esteemed guests for their meaningful contributions to our students and the future of this great community."
The event featured a diverse group of presenters from the community, including School Resource Officer Joe Jourdain from the Sanford Police Department, who spoke with Pre-K and 1st grade students about law enforcement. When asked what he likes most about his job, Officer Jourdain explained, "My most favorite part of being a resource officer is helping people. When I can watch someone, if someone's having a bad day or something's really not going right, and I can help them, guide them through, and I get them where they need to be, then that's a good feeling."
Officer Jourdain also highlighted the variety in his profession: "Being a police officer is really cool, because you just help people, and then there's different parts of being a police officer. You can be a detective and solve crimes, I do check for fingerprints and all those other things. You could be a resource officer like me, you could be a patrol officer that responds to different things."
Brett Williams, Managing Director of the Sanford Performing Arts Center, engaged kindergarten students with an interactive presentation about careers in the performing arts. "We have all kinds of different shows. There's a lot of different performing arts... singing and making songs, acting, dancing - anybody who has their job in front of an audience are performing artists, and one of the fun things that we do is we help make the atmosphere," Williams explained.
Williams demonstrated practical aspects of theater work with lighting equipment and props. "One of the tools I have for my job is lighting. Sometimes when we have plays, we have to have different things that are called props. Props are things that we hold on to in the show... nothing is as it appears on stage," he told the students.
Mayor Becky Brink spoke with second-grade students about city government and leadership. Sam Brink, another presenter, discussed nonprofit leadership and her work with Jobs for Maine's Graduates (JMG).
Classrooms hosted professionals from many different fields, giving students exposure to a wide range of career possibilities. Presenters included Rick Smith from Sanford Fire Department, Andrew Button from Southern Maine Aviation, Allie McCarthy from Animal Welfare Society, and many others. Students even participated in virtual sessions with Stephen Crowley from Facebook, who discussed coding and video game design with 3rd and 4th graders.
The schedule arranged for professionals to rotate between different grade levels throughout the day, ensuring that students could learn about multiple careers. The presentations were interactive, allowing children to ask questions and learn about the education, skills, and daily responsibilities required for each profession.