On Friday, March 27, sophomores got the opportunity to hear from different people about college and jobs at Sophomore Professional Development Day. This day was hosted on campus and focused on teaching the sophomores about different jobs, opportunities and how to achieve their goals. Given the chance to hear from multiple Rosary alumnae about their experiences in the work force, students were encouraged to ask questions and inquire about their lives. These women have worked hard for everything that they have achieved, and they encouraged Rosary students to do the same.
A participant in the educational day, Hailey Galvan ’28 shares how the seminar impacted her: “Sophomore development day was very inspiring and educational and led me to know what I want to do with my future.” For many girls, the event served as an opportunity to explore careers that aren’t very common such as engineering. This occasion let the girls have the ability to broaden their knowledge of different jobs and the experience that comes with them. Girls also got the chance to discuss how to achieve these career paths through education and hearing what “a day in the life” would be like.
The day began with the sophomores gathering in the Karcher Center to listen to keynote speaker Elise Cortes ’17. She started the day off by bringing special RA-themed donuts and speaking about the importance of career choices. She also spoke about the decisions that we face during pivotal points in our lives such as college decisions. Elise covered many topics such as college, studying abroad, sports and trying new things. Her talk was so informative and inspirational, and Rosary is proud to call her an alumna. The girls then shifted to separate groups, each focused on a different job category. Each job category consisted of three speakers from different jobs in that category’s background. Some of the job categories included STEM, education and finance/business. The speakers answered questions and talked in detail about their jobs and what they had to do to achieve their goals. Advice was given about entering college and how important it is to exhaust all areas of interest when picking your career. The ladies attended five different career paths (panels) and got to listen to alumnae speak for 30-minute periods about their jobs and successes.
After the rotation of career paths, the sophomores shared a delicious pizza and salad lunch finished with cookies and leftover donuts. To close out the remaining part of the day, Rosary’s counseling staff joined the sophomores and led them in career personality tests on Naviance. These tests helped the girls to explore new jobs that could be of interest to them based off of their personality and interests.
Lastly, the sophomores ended the day with a fun project! They were provided with magazines, stickers and art and crafts galore. The project was to make a visual representation of themselves, including goals for their future. This was the perfect end to a day filled with so much information and ideas for their futures.
When reflecting on the advice given to her by the alumnae, Melissa Lopez ’28 says: “Sophomore development was a really great utility to help me better decide what I want to do in my future career. It described the career paths I can go into and showed me how to use my skills to get internships and jobs.” Many of the panels urged the students to explore all points of interest. A big piece of advice was for the students to intern at different places to see if they would enjoy working there. The medical panel also encouraged the girls to shadow a nurse to see if they would be fit to have a similar schedule.
Overall, the girls enjoyed their development day experience and are excited to think about future careers. This experience has prepared the sophomores to enter junior year with goals for college and future employment. Hearing from Rosary alumnae has inspired many young girls to explore different career paths and colleges. While some girls may not have a clear idea of what they would like to do, Sophomore Professional Development Day did a good job of exploring multiple different paths. Thank you to the alumnae and other volunteers that gave up their time to help shape the minds and futures of our Rosary girls!
