Students at Plum Canyon Elementary School explored a Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s boat, heard from a published author, examined cochlear implants and learned about much more during the school’s annual Career Day.
“It makes their learning relevant,” Plum Canyon Elementary Principal Mary Mann said. “We have them all think about what they learned and study the skills they would need for each career.”
The Career Day is a joint effort between the school administration, Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and school parents.
“We contacted all the parents and teachers who were interested,” said Jess Segovia, the PTA Career Day Chair and Los Angeles Metro’s senior manager of accessibility. “We prioritized connecting parents with their children’s classrooms.”
Segovia, who has a son in third grade, spoke to third grade students about his work to ensure that people with disabilities are able to use Los Angeles Metro’s services.
Additional volunteers for the day included a banker, California Highway Patrol officers, a probation officer, a Los Angeles County Police officer, Sheriff’s deputies, Los Angeles County Fire Department firefighters, professors, authors, a U.S. Marine, a civil engineer, a fitness coach, a pediatric nurse, a veterinary technician, a theater marketer and a Santa Clarita transit employee.
“It sends the message of how important education is,” Mann said of Career Day. “It aligns with our growth mindset to work hard and put your mind to learning.”
Segovia agreed that the Career Day promotes hard work and determination for the elementary students.
“The work they do today has an impact on their lives and careers in the future,” Segovia said.
Volunteers also had the opportunity to tell the students about their daily responsibilities and answer questions about their careers.
“One of the things we do on daily basis is listen to dogs’ and cats’ hearts and lungs and even bellies,” Veterinarian Technician Pam Reaves said to a class of kindergarten grade students.
Douglas Kearney, a professor and author, shared his passion for teaching and the importance of finding a career that one enjoys.
“As a college professor, I get to talk about what I love all the time,” he said.
Students also heard from Saugus High School Counselor Marty Fricke and Saugus High School students about how getting a good education is preparing them for the future at college and in careers.
Second grade student London Fortier, 8, said her favorite part of the day was hearing from Carole Cliffe, a book author and illustrator.
“The book illustrator came into our classroom and read us one of her books,” Fortier said. “It was fun because we had never heard from a book illustrator before.”
The day also helped some students discover what they want to be when they grow up.
“I want to build a lot of things,” fourth grade student Kyle Ryan, 10, said. “I want to be a lot of things when I grow up like a car driver, a car builder, a car racer or a gold miner.”
“I want to be a teacher or a nurse practitioner,” fourth grade student Kierstyn Roberts, 9, followed.
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