Career Day and the ABCs of Life : Education: Middle-school students get a sobering lesson about the world of work from adults who have been there and know what it takes.

Navy Petty Officer Jake Haff urged the group of restless sixth-graders to stay in school, believe in their abilities and hang out with the “smart people in class.”

“Start believing you can get an A on that paper instead of a C,” Haff told Nimitz Middle School students recently during Career Awareness Day. “The only person that can stop you is yourself.”

Haff, a 16-year Navy veteran, was one of about 150 adults who offered a sobering message to the students: The only way to get a good job is to stay in school and get a college education.

That message appeared to get through to some of the school’s 3,600 students, 98% of whom are Latino and 51% of whom speak little or no English, according to Principal Lupe Simpson.

“You have to work for what you want,” said Norma Rodriguez, 13. “My mom and dad won’t be taking care of me for the rest of my life.”

Indeed, speakers told the students that hard work, determination and perseverance will set them apart from others who fail to make it to college. And those qualities, the speakers said, are vital to success in a competitive world where technology is continually changing.

Paul Espinosa, manager of consumer affairs for American Honda Motor Co. in Torrance, told a group of sixth-graders that 60% to 70% of job applications are rejected because they are filled out incorrectly.

And while Honda mechanics needed only an eighth-grade education in 1978 to operate equipment, today they need at least two years of post-high school training to get a job, he said.

Espinosa urged the students to look out for one another: “When you go to (college) and see another Latino having problems, I want you to help him out. Give him a hand and say, ‘Do you want to study with me?’ Work toward your community and toward the pride of being a Latino.”

The day also had its lighter moments.

When Lisa Jordan, a downtown corporate attorney, asked a group of seventh-graders what lawyers do, hands immediately shot up.

“They charge a lot of money to sue people,” one student offered.

A group of eighth-graders got excited when Los Angeles County Deputy Marshal Dawn Retzlaff offered to demonstrate how handcuffs work.

Two students who tried them on said they were surprised to find that the metal hurt their wrists. Another said he wants to pursue a career in law enforcement.

“By being a policeman, you can get respect and new friends,” Freddy Lopez, 14, said. “You could help protect the city from crime.”

Lopez’s friend, Juan Pasillas, was equally as talkative after being cuffed for 15 minutes. “We (need) to stay in school,” Juan, 14, said. “Don’t drop out. Be cool, man.”