High school is the time for students to start thinking about what they want to do in life and what their future goals are. Offerings also get time to learn about themselves and what their current interests are. At Lake Highland Preparatory School, the main goal is to ensure that every student is prepared for college and beyond. Offerings allow students to explore many opportunities, including college tours, professional development alumni lunches, and one-on-one college counselor meetings. However, one of the most important experiences the eleventh graders participate in is the Junior Job Shadowing Program. This allows students to step away from their desks and observe a professional work environment for themselves. This opportunity will take place from March 3 to March 5, and this shows students that in the future, they too can make a difference in the real world.
Junior job shadowing allows students to connect with the Orlando community. From doctors and lawyers to engineers and interior designers, all students are welcome to work with professionals who are willing to share their knowledge and help students eventually accomplish their goals. Students should not be afraid to ask questions and also truly get to see how the work environment functions. For example, a student shadowing a doctor can see how a hospital runs, or if one is observing a lawyer, it is possible to see how a law firm or courtroom actually works. Seeing professionals in action helps students discover how to pursue these careers one day.
This year, many Juniors are already preparing for which professional field they will be shadowing. Kacie Palla, grade 11, will be shadowing an executive at JPMorgan in Orlando. She discussed how her main goal was to explore her interest in economics and stated, “I specifically want to go into assets and wealth management, so getting the chance to shadow a leader in that field is great.” By observing someone experienced, she will be able to see how she can use her academic knowledge and apply it to a real-world career. Kacie hopes to learn many important skills in her shadowing experience and shared, “I want to learn about day-to-day meetings with clientele, how managing stocks looks in an office setting, and what you do between clients to look at their assets.” With this, Kacie is planning to learn these tasks and gather a realistic view of what it would be like to work in finance. Additionally, Kacie is planning to ask many insightful questions during her experience and explained that, “I want to ask my instructor how I can get into the industry as early as possible to build experience and credibility.” Building these connections gives her a head start on ideas involving her career before she graduates from LHP.
Joanna Cen, grade 11, will be shadowing a doctor, and although she is not sure exactly what she wants to do in the future, “This specific career of anesthesiology is one that interests me, so I’m excited to job shadow the doctor and see if this could potentially be a field I pursue in college and long-term.” With this, job shadowing will allow Joanna to tell whether she is ready for a fast-paced setting of an operating room by experiencing a hospital and surgical environment. She also talked about how she chose this specific job role, and stated, “I wasn’t sure what I was interested in, just that I’m more STEM-focused rather than English or history. I never really considered the idea of med school before, but I hope this job shadowing will open my eyes to a potential career I could pursue. So, my volleyball teammate had a connection to a CRNA who had connections to an anesthesiologist who helped set this up.” Having these connections and conversations allowed Joanna to find her own job shadowing position, and also shows that this program gives her a chance to explore her own future, even when she wasn’t sure of what her career path was yet.
At Lake Highland Preparatory School, Junior job shadowing has been a tradition for over 20 years now. Ms. Katie Gallagher, the Upper School Teacher/Student Activities Coordinator, believes that some goals students will achieve through Junior job shadowing are, “To gain real-world experience in a field that interests them. The school values Junior job shadow as a time for our students to build connections, find clarity, or build confidence, and learn what the real-world workplace is truly like.” These goals make sure that once students graduate from Lake Highland, they have a good understanding of what they want to do. She explained that for some students, this opportunity can be life-changing. Some students have gotten to learn from many of these professional experiences. Ms. Gallagher also believes that students are able to gain an understanding of many skills, not just those learned from school or from a book. Students can even apply their academic knowledge in the professional workplaces they visit. Ms. Gallagher stated, “From being invited to watch surgeries, going on flights, sitting in on court, they get to see a lot of different things that they might have learned about or that they think they could see as a career in person.”
Additionally, Ms. Gallagher discussed how sometimes, students aren’t sure what career they want yet or what path to explore. This is where Ms. Gallagher steps in as a guide and mentor to help students figure out their interests. She talked about how she approaches the situation by, “Asking them what their parents do, what their friends’ parents do, and some of their hobbies. Sometimes by talking it out, it clicks with fields that maybe they are interested in but didn’t realize it was something they could do or would want to do.” A simple conversation like this has helped many students connect their interests to their long-term goals, and Ms. Gallagher believes that no student should be afraid to ask for help. She also believes that every single student gains something from this experience, especially after reviewing feedback from many students. Ms. Gallagher said, “The feedback each year is gratitude. Gratitude that Lake Highland values this opportunity for our students. Gratitude that professionals are willing to host them, especially since it’s a small timeframe, and gratitude for learning and seeing firsthand fields that they could end up in as their future.” With all of this positive feedback and appreciation, it shows how students believe that this experience is truly valuable and worth this time investment.
Junior job shadowing is considered one of the most important opportunities that Lake Highland Preparatory School offers its students. By being able to leave campus and explore what it is like to be in a professional setting, Juniors can get an idea of what they want to do in the future. This opportunity also gives students an idea of what they want to major in college. Whether a student knows exactly what they want to do or is unsure, every single student gains a clear pathway for their future.
