Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.
On Saturday, November 2, more than 60 BEAM high schoolers streamed into NYU’s Courant Institute for BEAM’s 2nd Annual Career Day. Students met professionals from education, law, medicine, sales, engineering, counseling, veterinary sciences, entrepreneurship, and more!
To keep things interactive, during the morning session, small groups of students rotated among speakers, who talked about their professional journeys and answered questions. Afterwards, students spent lunch networking: getting to know folks they hadn’t already met and asking more questions. Students left inspired — with business cards, LinkedIn accounts, and opportunities for future engagement!
Darryl is an algebra teacher at a charter school in Brooklyn. This summer he taught voting theory at BEAM Discovery’s downtown site.
Darryl Gladstone, a math educator in Brooklyn, said about his experience: “Career Day was wonderful and cathartic. The students were thoughtful and inquisitive about what I do and above all were sponges ready to soak up new information. It was also great to network with other professionals in different fields — ones who share the same passion for enlightening the future generation.”
Our professionals had words of wisdom for our students. They spoke about their journeys from middle school through college. Many talked about how they navigated being the “only one” in spaces. They discussed hardships they faced, and ultimately inspired our students to be their best selves.
“Any chance you get to meet people, go out and meet [them] and ask them hard questions.”
Rudy is the Director of Entrepreneurship and Gaming Programs at The DreamYard Project.
“You don’t need to know what you want to do now. People are still figuring it out. Being here today shows you’re already exploring options; that’s really great.”
Noreen works in advertising for Microsoft and is also a content creator and influencer.
“With careers, we sometimes think we need to choose one direction or another. That’s not true; for example, you can code AND write - that career exists.”
Erin is a Client Success Manager for Jopwell, a career development platform for Black, Latinx, and indigenous students and professionals.
BEAM students asked thoughtful questions to get to the crux of what passion is and why it’s so important to be in a career that you love. Some have already been reaching out to folks they met asking for guidance and potential future opportunities for internships and enrichment!
Kathy (above, right) is a 9th grader at The Brooklyn Latin School.
“I know what I want to do but I don’t know HOW to do what I want to do.”
Isabella is a senior at Manhattan Center for Science and Math and a Posse finalist!
“I was wondering, how did you develop the ideas to innovate the gaming field? Also, did it come from an entrepreneurship viewpoint? I am looking to major in engineering in college and I find many of these careers inspiring.”
Want to find out more about Career Day and the professionals who participated? Click below.
