Career Day/Career Partnership Day at B-CC

2006
2005
2004
2003

2006

The 13th annual Career Partnership Day, sponsored by the Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with Junior Achievement, was held on March 22. The event was a tremendous success, judging from responses from both students and businesses. One hundred twenty-six B-CC students, together with approximately 20 students from Walter Johnson and Walt Whitman combined, participated in the job-shadowing day in which they learned about a career of potential interest by observing people in the workplace.

Approximately fifty business sponsors made a special effort to both accommodate the large number of students participating and to construct events that were both interesting and informative for the students. For example, the Consumer Product Safety Commission took the students on a tour of their testing labs in Gaithersburg, followed by lunch with Commissioner Nancy Nord and a demonstration of some potentially hazardous products that have been banned by the Commission. Chevy Chase Bank conducted practice “interviews” with the students and gave them pointers on what to do (and what NOT to do) during an interview. Students interested in engineering visited Lockheed Martin where they learned about the WIN-T project and saw demonstrations of navigational systems and computers being installed in Hummers. Yet another group of students witnessed the legal system in action by spending the day at the Office of the Public Defender. After going to court and witnessing a civil trial, these students met with a group of public defense attorneys whose responses to student questions subsequently led to a spirited discussion on the morals and ethics associated with the work of a public defender.

The day began with a breakfast at Chevy Chase Bank headquarters and a brief program during which the Cynthia Clarke Career Builders Awards* were presented to Carol Brand, PTSA President, Dr. Richard McCarron, Naval Medical Research Center and Dr. Nancy Zeller, American University. This award, named after Mrs. Clarke, is given every year in her honor to a business, government agency, or individual(s) who has been either an effective business partner with the school, and/or, as is the case with this year’s awardees, has given ongoing commitment to the students of B-CC. The recipients of this year’s Career Builders Awards go to three B-CC parents who, for many years, have given tirelessly of themselves in ways that will affect both present and future B-CC students. Through their leadership, vision, willingness to take interns, and overall enthusiasm for the well being of all B-CC students, these “graduating” parents are most deserving recipients. Thank you!

Response to this year’s program was almost universally positive, as evidenced by the following excerpts from thank you letters and evaluations written by the students, and messages sent by business sponsors:

Theresa Danos (B-CC Rescue Squad): “Living the life of a hero for a day was certainly an amazing experience. My favorite part was going on the calls with the rescue squad and having the opportunity to talk with the chief.”

Keith Hill (The Madison Design Group/RGM Graphics): "I learned a lot about the graphic design field, and this experience opened a future career possibility for me. I enjoyed seeing the variety of products this company creates for its clients.”

Zachary Kohn (Office of Congressman Chris Van Hollen): “I thoroughly enjoyed spending the day at Congressman Van Hollen’s Rockville office. It was very interesting to see how staff works together to satisfy the needs of his constituents.”

Adrienne Lawson (McCormick and Schmicks): “I now know that there are twenty-eight ways to prepare and egg and that restaurant work can be compared to a Broadway production! The allusion to directing and performing made me rethink how I view the importance of my own part time job.”

From business sponsors:
Greg Hourigan, Hard Times Café: “Crystal (Reid) was a delight. She had a genuine interest in what makes a day in the life of a restaurant, from getting change at the bank, prepping for lunch, then taking a turn ‘behind the line’ to get real experience in preparing food for service. Career Partnership Day is a win/win, especially when you share the day with a winning student!”

The following businesses and government agencies participated in Career Partnership Day:

Aronson & Company; Bethesda Cares; Bethesda North Marriott; Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad, Burt Associates Inc., Calvert Group; Capitol Orthopedics & Rehabilitation; Chevy Chase Bank; Chevy Chase Cars; Chevy Chase Land Company; Consumer Products Safety Commission; Del Ray Animal Hospital; Dr. Stanley Mayer, DDS; Elite Personnel; Esprit Rainbow Travel; EruoMotorcars; Fort Myer Military Base; Grimm & Parker Architects; Guernsey Office Products; Hard Times Café; Hospice Caring, Inc.; Imagination Stage; Interior Impressions, Inc.; L’Academie de Cuisine; Our Lady of Lourdes Elementary School; Lerch, Early & Brewer; Lockheed Martin; Madison Design Group/RGM Graphics; McCormick & Schmick’s; Microvest Capital Management; Montgomery County Police Department – Bethesda District; National 4-H Council; Naval Medical Research Center; NIH Recreation Welfare; Office of Congressman Chris Van Hollen; Office of Public Defender; Ray Mensah Insurance Agency; Royal Fitness and Nutrition; Salon A; Spirent Communications; Suburban Hospital; Sullivan & Company; The Bethesda Urban Partnership; The children’s Inn at NIH; The Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce; The Jane Fairweather Team; The Palisades Apartments; Trawick & Associates; West Financial Group; YMCA of Bethesda

Special thanks to Classic Residence by Hyatt and Barwood Transportation

2005

The 12th annual Career Partnership Day, sponsored by the Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with Junior Achievement, was held on March 10 and was a rousing success, judging by responses from both students and businesses. Approximately 50 students participated in the job shadowing day in which students learn about a potential career interest by observing people in the work place.

This year’s business sponsors made a special effort to construct events that were interesting and informative for the students. For example, the Consumer Product Safety Commission took the students on a tour of their testing labs in Gaithersburg, and followed up with a demonstration of some potentially hazardous products that have been banned by the Commission. Chevy Chase Bank actually conducted practice “interviews” of the students and gave them pointers on what to do (and what NOT to do) during an interview. This lesson was particularly timely for Anna Mikhaylova, who was about to have a real interview for a summer job!

The day began with a breakfast at Chevy Chase Bank headquarters and a brief program during which the Cynthia Clarke Career Builders Award* was presented to Chevy Chase Bank. This award, named after Mrs. Clarke, is given every year in her honor to a business or government agency that has been an effective business partner with the school. Through their financial contributions, willingness to take interns, and enthusiasm for Career Partnership Day, the bank was certainly a deserving recipient. Thank you, Chevy Chase Bank!

Response to this year’s program was almost universally positive, as evidenced by the following excerpts from thank you letters and evaluations written by the students and messages sent to me by business sponsors:

Zack Arnson-Serotty (Trawick and Associates): Thank you very much for this opportunity. I’m glad that people in our community take time out of their day to teach high school students important practical lessons.

Ama Misa (Children’s Inn): It was a great experience because although it was not specifically the profession I want to go into, I learned about other aspects of health and medicine.

Jonathan Gebratatios (Calvert Group): The Calvert Group was very generous to me and the work place was very interesting.

Crisanta Balangue (Suburban Hospital): It was the finest and one of the most enjoyable experiences I have ever had, even though I was sad for the people I saw in the hospital who are suffering with cancer. I will never forget my day with you because my entire questions that I had in my mind were answered.

We extend our thanks to the following participating businesses and government agencies:
Aronson & Company, Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad, Bethesda Cares, Bethesda Urban Partnership, Calvert Group, Chevy Chase Bank, Chevy Chase Cars, Children’s Inn at NIH, Clear Channel AM Sports Talk, Clear Channel Radio, DGI Design Group, Ferris Baker Watts, Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce, GTM Architects, Alan R. Heller, DDS, Lerch, Early & Brewer, Linowes & Blocher, Lockheed Martin, Martin-Schaffer, Inc., Stanley Mayer, DDS, Montgomery County Police Department, National Institutes of Health, National Naval Medical Center, North Chevy Chase Elementary School, Radio King Orchestra, Salon A, Suburban Hospital, Trawick & Associates, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, University of Maryland, Word Wizards, and YMCA Ayrlawn Program Center.

2005 Career Partnership Day Photos

2004

On Thursday, March 11, 2004, over 75 people representing a wide variety of career choices visited B-CC High School to share their expertise with 11th and 12th grade students. Economists, editors, lawyers, psychiatrists, musicians, graphic designers, teachers and entrepreneurs gathered in panels to address and interact with small groups of students. Students were able to choose two of 17 career clusters, representing everything from Hospitality and Tourism to Research Science.

Sponsored by B-CC High School and the B-CC Chamber of Commerce, Career Day featured a variety of businesses, schools, and government agencies, including The Wilderness Society, The Corcoran Gallery, National Institutes of Health, American University, Sun Microsystems, Northrup Grumman, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Imagination Stage, Round House Theater, Chevy Chase Bank, Montgomery County Police, The New York Times Magazine, and The Washington Post.

While juniors and seniors were attending the seminars, 9th and 10th graders were addressed by Cedric Jennings, the subject of Ron Suskind’s A Hope in the Unseen, a chronicle of Cedric’s journey from Ballou High School to Brown University and beyond.

The Cynthia Clarke Career Builder Award*, given annually to individuals who have demonstrated an ongoing commitment to career development and business/school partnerships, were awarded to Robert G. Brewer, Jr. of Lerch Early and Brewer; Randall Hamas, C.P.A.; James L. Nelson of Nelson & Mudd; Douglas Schiffman; Roger Kruse, Manager of the Marriott Residence Inn in Bethesda, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The award honors Cynthia Clarke, former internship coordinator at B-CC High School, who passed away several years ago. It was Cynthia Clarke who spearheaded the business/school partnerships that exist today.

Comments from moderators, panelists, and students:

"Our session went very well. The students were very polite and attentive and had some questions. The presenters were very enthusiastic and their presentations were well tailored to the students."--Shelly Walker, Moderator

"At the end I gave each group about 10 minutes to finish their questionnaires, and then I encouraged them to talk among themselves about what they had just heard. A few were not ready to leave when the session ended!"--Kate Sieber, Moderator

"I very much enjoyed Career Day. I hope the students got a lot out of it. The panel was a good diverse group."--Ramona Hutko, Panelist

"It was the best one I have ever participated in, and I have done a bunch." --Doug Schiffman, Panelist

"The speakers were very interesting and informative. They also gave good general advice for making career path decisions."--Student

"I learned that you can work on something for a long time and find yourself someplace you didn’t expect."--Student

"Very cool."--Student

2004 Career Day Photos

2003

Cynthia Clarke Career Builder Award winners*

Chevy Chase Cars, Inc.; Montgomery County Police; the National Institutes of Health; and Sports Talk 980.

*The Cynthia Clarke Career Builder Award
This award is given every year in memory of Cynthia Clarke, former math teacher and internship coordinator, who founded Career Partnership Day more than 14 years ago. The award honors an individual, a business or government agency that has been an effective business partner with the school.