Career Spotlights

Early Childhood Education: Pre-school or Kindergarten Teachers White Oak School hosted a panel presentation on the training, rewards, challenges, and local job opportunities for Early Childhood teachers. Students met in the cafeteria for an in-depth and multi-faceted presentation given by Kim LaBlanc (Director of Freshman Admissions, American International College), Barbara Dautrich (Associate Professor, Early Childhood Education, AIC), and Patricia Guenette (Vice President of Human Resources, Square One, Springfield). Our high school students had the opportunity to job-shadow the roles of Lead Teacher and Assistant Teacher for a few hours in the classrooms at the nearby Westfield Head Start Program. They learned much about Head Start careers and young children and, in fact, enjoyed their visit so much that they did not want to leave!
Criminal Justice Westfield Community Police Officer Bard discussed the rewards and challenges of becoming a police officer; he has more than 20 years of experience on the Westfield Police Force. Officer Scott Phelon spoke about the Police Academy training experience and the beginning years of building a career as a police officer. He recently joined the Westfield Police Force. Caitlin Davis (White Oak School graduate ‘07) shared the story of her college journey into Criminal Justice. Caitlin is presently a Criminal Justice major at Westfield State University. Each of the three presenters offered a unique and valuable perspective on the Criminal Justice career track. A Question & Answer period followed the presentation.
Electrician : *Scott Southworth* Mr. Southworth demonstrated the tools of his trade and shared the requirements, rewards, challenges of being an electrician, as well as various opportunities (residential, commercial, and industrial) within the field, for twelve middle and high school students. Students were then invited to take part in hands-on activities that involved utilizing the tools to bend and cut pipe.