LYNN — A speed-dating style career night gave me the opportunity to ask our future leaders what professions they think will continue to be prosperous.
Project Launch, a curriculum offered by Raw Art Works, had their annual career night Wednesday. The event pairs teens with professionals, who were specifically recruited, and gives the teens opportunities to ask one-on-one questions about careers they are interested in pursuing.
As a 22-year-old journalism intern just a month shy of graduating college, I was confused as to why they considered me a professional, but I was intrigued. I couldn’t help but think, “Who better to ask teens about the future of professional careers than someone who is just barely jumping into the professional adult world herself?”
Hebert Labbate, manager of Project Launch, and coordinator Kaitlyn Farmer created a comfortable environment for aspiring teens and current professionals to engage in fulfilling conversations about college aspirations, pastimes, and a spectrum of professional careers in social work, film, photography, law, and (of course) communication and media.
“It gives them the perfect experience of hearing from different professionals from careers that some of which are really excited about, and some of which they have never heard about before,” said Farmer, the coordinator for the last two years.
Ana Shae Quigley, a junior at Marblehead High School, was chosen to be my mentee for the night. I was impressed that a Generation Z kid held any interest in the journalism profession, given the social media-driven society these students are consumed in every day. I thought I was going to be the one with all the questions but when she whipped out her notebook of queries, I knew I was in for a ride.
“You’re always learning something new, that’s what immediately drew me into journalism,” said Quigley. “You find a story that has no significant meaning and then you’re able to take it, give it a meaning, and share that with people.”
The first round flew by and my mentee was gone. Before I could make eye contact with another teen to question, a young girl flew over to my table with her questions in hand.
Meghan Ayer, a senior at Lynn Tech, wanted to ask me everything she could about the journalism profession, from my interview techniques to my ability in finding a variety of stories to cover. With a few months until she begins gearing up for college, Ayer has committed to Fitchburg State University with a major in Communications Media and double minors in Journalism and Theater. To say I was impressed with her aspirations was an understatement.
“Journalism teaches you a whole new language and gives you a whole different perspective of writing and reading and I think it takes you and puts you into someone else’s shoes, which can change your whole perspective on what’s going on with the world,” said Ayer.
Aspiring psychiatrist Christian Angel-Deleon, a junior at Lynn English High School, has called RAW his home for more than seven years. He thought the career event gave him the chance to network with mental health professionals who led the same path he is currently on, a local LGBTQ Latino suffering with mental health issues with aspirations to get into a career that would help kids like him.
“RAW has opened so many doors for me because I was the weird kid in elementary school who didn’t fit in anywhere, so coming here helped me find myself, even in my darkest times,” said Angel-Deleon. “Dealing with my mental health is so much work and having the support here has helped me realize my mental health is not a disability, it’s my greatest strength.”
Even though RAW is an art-based after-school program, Project Launch is a curriculum that wants all of their teens to become successful adults. According to their coordinator, the profession her teens have shown the most interest in this year is the medical field, which Farmer acknowledges makes her beam with pride. The career night not only networks professionals with teens, but professionals with each other as well.
“I think the most exciting part is talking to people from the Lynn community and getting to connect with professionals who I may have gone to high school with and seeing what they’re up to in their lives, because the experiential learning of talking to a professional who knows where you’re coming from is invaluable,” said Farmer, who is also a RAW alumna.
From an almost college graduate to future college graduates, I only have one statement of advice; partake in as many experiences as you can and continuously challenge yourself by going outside of your comfort zone. In a country with teens like the influential ones from the Project Launch career night, the future is looking bright.