Central Valley Academy hosted a schoolwide Career Day on Tuesday, Oct. 26. The program, sponsored by Herkimer BOCES School to Careers (STC) program, featured representatives from 32 area businesses who spoke to students about career opportunities in their field.
The day opened with a keynote address by Dr. Mark Montgomery, Chief Diversity Officer at SUNY Polytechnic Institute. His message covered many topics, but focused heavily on self esteem. Watch his video below (his message starts at 6:15).
After the keynote, students sat in on five 25-minutes presentations by different career representatives. CVA guidance counselors assigned the sessions based on student interest and the courses students are taking.
In the sessions, speakers explained careers and detailed the education and/or experience needed to find a job that field. Most set aside a few minutes for students to ask questions. Careers paths included the fields of:
- Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources
- Architecture and Construction
- Arts, Audio Visual Technology and Communications
- Business, Management and Administration
- Education and Training
- Finance
- Government and Public Administration
- Health Science
- Hospitality and Tourism
- Human Services
- Information Technology
- Law, Public Safety, Corrections and Security
- Manufacturing
- Marketing, Sales and Service
- Science, Technology, Engineering and Math
- Transportation, Distribution and Logistics
School To Careers is a partnership developed by Herkimer-Fulton-Hamilton-Otsego BOCES among schools and businesses in the region with a goal of connecting students to jobs in the area through workshops, internships, partnerships, and planning. STC Liaison MaryBeth Napolitano and STC Counselor Roberta Roberts coordinated the day with CVA Guidance Counselors Michelle DelConte and Shannon Darrow. Tuesday marked the return of Career Day after a two-year interruption due to the pandemic.