On Thursday, April 16th, a group of NJROTC cadets and a selected other group of PB students went on a field trip to a convention in Arundel to look at career booths from different programs and explore multiple future career options. Consisting of around 80 students, the trip was intended to enhance their future understanding of careers that may fit their interests.
This is the third year that the cadets have attended the career quest and each year the quality of the convention has improved. The first year there were buses from MCPS but the convention was smaller and no food was provided. The second year the convention was slightly bigger and more space to explore and space for more booths. However, this year two coach buses were provided for travel, there were organized lunches, and there were workshops where guest speakers explained details of specific careers such as cosmetology, medical, construction.
Chief Mark pointed out that one of the hopes of the event this year was to help Cadets build up their resume and talk to colleges to see what they could possibly have in store for them. Some of the schools on hand at the event included Howard Community College, Temple Academy, and Topcurl Beauty Academy. Chief Mark noted that the event has had some well-known speakers in recent years. “The governor of Maryland was one of the guest speakers when they first started it, the second year the mayor of Hanover, and this year it was the fortune lady.” He added that transportation has improved,“The first year they gave us a school bus and the next year it was coach buses. They also gave us two buses instead of one because they know we’re dedicated.” Chief Mark also noted that this year’s career quest for cadets was significantly better, as it had better quality in space, transportation, and booths.
At the convention, there were small booths that offered information and opportunities to speak with people in careers including engineering, cosmetology, nursing, education, law enforcement, and technology. Students explored the stands and the information provided and asked questions about the careers they were interested in. The cosmetology stand offered small things like hair combs and gel brushes for students and they put on small amounts of makeup for them to try. The majority of booths handed out stuff like pens, flyers, postcards, and notepads.
Overall during this event, cadets were able to explore, discover information about career opportunities, and enjoy the trip.
