THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 29, 1996 TAG: 9603270178
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 03 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY GARY EDWARDS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
Hundreds of students flocked to Larkspur Middle school recently to learn about jobs.
At Career Connection night sixth- through 12th-graders heard professionals in fields from acting to zookeeping talk about choosing a career.
The evening was a collaborative effort between the city's schools, the Virginia Beach Chamber of Commerce, Virginia Power and the Virginia Beach Department of Economic Development.
``There are 22 schools involved here tonight,'' said Patrick Konopnicki, the school system's director of technological and career education.
``It made more sense to bring the 22 schools together under one roof than to hold 22 separate presentations.''
Konopnicki said the career pathway involves two big questions: Where are you going and how are you going to get there?
Robert Mitchell, director of programs for exceptional children, said, ``This is the first time we've combined efforts between all the departments and agencies. We've done this before, but always separately.''
Divinia Roberts, 17, and her friend, Meria Eisenbraun, 15, are students at Salem High School.
They attended a session held by Secret Service agents and were planning on finding out about working for a travel agency.
Roberts, who is a junior, hopes to attend Towson State College in Maryland and study marine biology.
Eisenbraun, a freshman, said she thought it would be fun to be a travel agent.
She plans to attend college, too, though, she is uncertain where and what her major will be.
It's never too early to start planning for a career, said Denise Lawson, from the school public information office. ``The sixth grade is a good time to start thinking about possible careers,'' she said. ``To at least get some idea of what's out there.''
Along those lines, schools gave interest inventory questionnaires to the students prior to the seminar.
``We have received 287 evaluations so far, from children and parents who attended,'' said Lawson, a week after the event.
``We had about 700 people - presenters, parents and students - attend.
``We are pleased with the results, especially for a first-time effort. We'll be able to improve some things next time,'' she said.
``And we received good support from the business community.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by GARY EDWARDS
Divinia Roberts, 17, left, and her friend, Meria Eisenbraun, 15,
learned about careers in the Secret Service and travel business.
by CNB