In high school, students often dream big. Many begin to think about their future careers and how they will spend the rest of their lives. Will they pursue healthcare, culinary arts, or possibly law? With the Speaker Series here at the Park, these questions could be answered within less than an hour.
The Speaker Series gives students the opportunity to learn about many different careers and jobs that are offered around the Ohio Valley area. Speakers from different businesses come to school during activity periods to speak to students about what they do and answer their questions to help them better understand their careers.
Along with the speaker series, the school offers another great opportunity for students to hear all about future careers, which is called Lunch & Learn, where certain businesses that participate in the Speaker Series offer tours of their facilities. This is a great way to get a peek at the environment that students could work in, and also allows them to have a nice lunch afterwards.
Jeanie Prince, who works for the Education Alliance as a partnership coordinator and is assigned to WPHS, is one of the masterminds of the Speaker Series and encourages students to attend.
“It is our goal that students are able to make more informed career decisions after attending the speaker series events. Whether that means working right after graduation or attending university, it is always helpful to have more information,” said Prince.
“Registration for Lunch & Learns and the Speaker Series is very important. Your attendance is valued, and we need to know how many students will be attending. Answering the surveys at the end of an event helps us determine which programs are the most valuable for the students. It requires using your phone and capturing the QR code to answer a very short survey. If you do not have a phone, we can help. I often share the “Something I learned comments” with our presenters, and they appreciate the feedback,” she added.
Most recently, the Wheeling Police Dept. made an appearance here at Park to speak to students, specifically Major Josh Sanders. This is just one of the many amazing speakers who have come to speak to the students.
“We have learned from many of our presenters, like Williams Lea, Kalkreuth, and Touchstone Labs, that they have customers based all over the United States and in many cases, the world. We want students to know that great career opportunities exist right here.”
Principal, Meredith Dailer, expressed why she believes students should attend the Speaker Series.
” The Speaker Series is built for students! We purposefully allow any student to sign up because we never know what experience could spark a new interest or new motivation. We want students to find their path while at Wheeling park and this is another way for them to see future opportunities for themselves.”
Make sure to stay updated on which Speakers are coming up next, because you never know what exciting endeavors your future is going to bring.
Upcoming Speaker Series include:
2/13 Careers in Automotive
2/18 Innovation STEM Tour Touchstone Labs & Touchstone Composites Lunch and Learn
2/27 Financial Literacy
3/6 OI Stifel Fine Arts
3/13 Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources
