AGOURA HILLS : Dunphy, Dentist Career Day Guests

Students at the Lindero Canyon Middle School will have the opportunity to interview TV news anchor Jerry Dunphy, an FBI special agent or a dentist during the school’s fourth annual Career Day on Friday.

The event, geared toward students in the seventh grade, helps youths to begin considering the wide array of possibilities that life has to offer, school officials said.

“Schools look at math, language and social sciences all the time,” said Lindero Canyon Principal Ronald Kaiser. “We decided that it is equally important for kids to get a sense of what their goals and interests are as soon as possible.”

Seventh grade, said Kaiser, is a time when most youngsters begin to form convictions about themselves and their interests.

“This is a pivotal period in their lives,” he said. “From here on, they need to keep alive an idea of what they want to do . . . with the rest of their lives.”

During the event, the students will attend four previously assigned 25-minute group sessions that highlight the everyday job concerns of the guest professionals in attendance.

In addition to Dunphy, the FBI agent and the dentist, this year’s guest list includes defense attorney Ira Salzman and professionals in paramedic training, advertising and juvenile psychology.

The scheduled keynote speaker will be sports broadcast journalist Gary Cruz.

“It’s an exciting day” for students, said Kaiser. “They know that they are going to meet extremely interesting people, who care about their futures.

“This will help them to explore themselves a little more.”