ANAHEIM : Teens’ Career Day Stresses Options

More than 170 students from the Anaheim Union High School District on Wednesday attended the district’s annual “non-traditional” career seminar, which is geared to give high school seniors a broader picture of job possibilities.

Professionals from a variety of fields instructed teen-agers from home economics and business classes throughout the district on careers available in those fields.

“I always wanted to be a secretary,” said Cypress High sophomore Michelle Kelly. “But the secretary was saying how you shouldn’t set your sights on just that. I mean, how you could be the lawyer or whatever, more than the secretary.”

Students filed in and out of three seminars during the daylong workshop at Brookhurst Community Center, listening to business professionals discuss their careers in fields including desktop publishing, law, child care and fashion merchandising.

Joyce Walach, a senior at Magnolia High, said she had been interested in a career with computers, but the seminars piqued her interest in fashion design and merchandising.

Most students said the highlight of the conference was a motivational seminar by speaker Jody Ellison, who told the students how to motivate themselves to attain their goals.

“The one thing we all have in common is 24 hours,” said Ellison, stressing the need for setting goals, and making strides toward accomplishing those goals each day. She also told students of the importance of trying various career routes, and leaving doors open in case career options fall through.

“You don’t have to decide today what you’re going to be when you grow up,” she said. “Parts of your future will always be cloudy.”

Junior Lynn Gayton said she was impressed by the motivational seminar the most. “I learned that it’s not enough to want to do something, you need to work for what you go after. And you need to have a lot of ideas and leave your options open.”