(April 15, 2019--Jersey City, NJ) Career Day at Explore Middle School was a success with over 30 professionals as well as County Prep and High Tech High School instructors and students participating in an eventful day.

Professionals in fields ranging from hospitality services to cyber security to wildlife conservation and more shared their backgrounds and experiences with students and staff. The goal for the day was to expand students’ knowledge of potential career paths and fields.

Hudson County was represented well with professionals from the Hudson County Sherriff’s Office, the Jersey City Police Department, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, North Hudson Community Action Corporation, and the York Street Project.

Volunteer Coordinator & Community Liaison for the York Street Project, Nelly Tabora was excited to share with students the variety of career opportunities for students.

Jenna Firshein, Editor-in-Chief at Growing in Jersey City was also grateful to spend the day with students of the community and looks forward to highlighting the event on her website.

A number of parents participated in Career Day eager to interact with students. Megan Strub, David Drumeler, Jen Ng, Michael Santiago, Alice O’Kane, Tine Pahl, Daniela Galvez, Johanna Seppalainen, Frances Fiore, Christine Harman, Cynthia Reyes, Yishai Minkin and Jennifer Morrill all proudly represented their career fields.

“This was my first time participating in career day and it thoroughly exceeded my expectations. The program set up and engagement from the students was fantastic. They had thoughtful questions and it was truly a pleasure to be a part of this event,” 7th and 8th-grade parent, Morrill.

Peter Mielach represented Hudson County Schools of Technology Foundation Board Member, Andrew Campbell’s company, Eastern Millwork. The students were very excited to hear about the college and career opportunities Eastern Millwork offers HCST students.

“I wanted to thank you for holding this event. It really made an impact on Gigi. She was so excited to hear about all the opportunities for the future, especially Eastern Millworks. I couldn’t shut her up!” 6th-grade parent, Suzanne Pelier-Gonzalez, affirmed with Principal Allyson Krone and Supervisor Jamie Velazquez.

Hudson County Schools of Technology Board Secretary, Joseph Muniz joined the day’s event spending time visiting with the professional guests and talking to students.

“Explore's Career Fair captured the mission of our district, community professionals, parent volunteers and our own high school students from County Prep and High Tech shared information about their majors with our middle schoolers. I was particularly impressed with the HTHS Music and Audio Tech Band who played for all of the participants and how receptive the middle schoolers were. I look forward to supporting this event next year,” Muniz shared.

Students and instructors from County Prep High School and High Tech High School were also invited to discuss the details of their majors such as wood technology, architecture and design, and medical science to name a few. Music and audio tech majors from High Tech treated guests and students to live performances.

Teacher-in-Charge for the Academy for Design and Fabrication at High Tech, Michael Diamond, accompanied the high school students who participated. "Career Day provided High Tech's students a chance to pass on their passion for the career and technical education courses that they love to the students of Explore Middle School. In this way, Explore's students got a glimpse at the career continuum from high school on through to people working in the field, and that can be a really powerful connection. We were grateful to participate in this important event.”

Principal Krone and Supervisor Velazquez were proud of the event and the students’ engagement with the professionals.

“When we started planning for Career Day we had no idea how great the turnout would be. Watching such a great group of professionals interacting with our students was truly an invaluable experience. On behalf of the Explore Career Day Planning Team and our student body, I’d like to extend a big thank you to our entire staff for making sure that the day ran smoothly and our guests for sharing their knowledge and professionalism,” Ms. Velazquez shared.