The Burlington High School Career Fair, an annual exploratory event that helps upperclassmen meet with professionals to talk about their career, took place on February 4th 2025. The goal was to support upperclassmen who feel lost and confused when trying to decipher their plans for the future. 

This event, organized by Shereen Tyrell, BHS Career Pathways director, Shannon Janovitz, BHS DEI coach and many more, has the common goal of providing insight on careers you might not even know have existed before you walked in the cafeteria doors.

“I think the big thing is do you know where you're going?” Mrs. Tyrell, faculty at BHS, said. “And I've talked to a lot of seniors who don't really know what they want to do, which is completely understandable.” 

Volunteers from across the state lined up in the cafeteria to share a common interest: their job. Volunteers range from family, friends, parents, to random people with interesting jobs that the organizers met while out and about. These volunteers offer students enlightening conversation about jobs they may be interested in. 

”It's your first chance to have formal discussions with people in the workforce and learn how to ask questions to find out more about careers, because ultimately you're looking for the thing that's the best match for you,” Mrs. Tyrell said.

Like all events, there is always room for improvement. Ms. Janovitz, a teacher here at BHS, opened up about how they hosted a FLEX block for participating upperclassmen to prepare conversation for the big day. At this FLEX block students were taught how to have a formal conversation and ask relevant questions. 

 “I think that we still have some work to do to ensure that students are prepared and see it as a meaningful opportunity.” Janovitz, BHS DEI coach, said. 

Something myself and other students noticed was the exclusion of Freshman and Sophomore at the event. 

“If I had the opportunity to go to the career fair I think I would definitely go” Avery Maguire, Freshman at BHS said, “I think it would help me better understand the career path I want to take”

Including underclassmen should be something that organizers should work towards as it would be a beneficial and constructive event for them to participate in. 

Overall, The Burlington High School Career Fair is a diverse, beneficial and quality opportunity for upperclassmen to converse with professionals that are currently in the workforce. However, noted earlier in the article there is always room for the event to grow. The underclassmen at BHS hope to see the event eventually expand to be more inclusive.

 Since Burlington High School has gotten back from February break, most students have had to think a lot about course selection, which is when they choose what classes they are going to be taking next year. 

For freshmen, this is an almost entirely new concept. While they got to choose one elective in middle school, making decisions about pretty much every class, including academic classes, is a change. Freshman have attended multiple meetings to discuss course selection and how their choices could affect future course selections as well.

“Choosing classes in high school is definitely more stressful than what we did in middle school,” Mia Boucher, a freshman at BHS, said, “Last year it was just whatever we got recommended for, and then you got to choose one elective. There’s more options this year like different science classes, AP classes, or anything else we get to take.”

“I would say that picking classes in high school is easier than in eighth grade,” Emma Carey, another freshman at BHS, said, “Because you already understand what different levels of courses mean and how well you would most likely do in them. For example, people doing well in CP might want to do honors the next year. But in middle school we didn’t know things like that.”

Many of the underclassmen may be feeling stressed about choosing, or think that the freedom of it is nice. Either way, there are ways that the school provides to help them feel a little more confident about it if needed. Multiple meetings were held for students about course selection, which gave kids information to help them figure out what their decisions for classes were going to be.

“I went to a counselor meeting during my science class,” said Mia, “And we talked about what classes I was going to take next year, what I got recommended for, and if that’s what I wanted, and then which elective I was planning to choose. We also had a meeting in the auditorium with everyone about working aspen, and one in the cafe about our GPA and transcript.”

These meetings were held for every freshman student, although they were at different times. Some of these meetings were hosted by different counselors about specific topics that have to do with course selection. Meetings like this give freshmen extra information on a topic that they are new to.

“I think that is a really good idea that students get to choose, I also think it’s very helpful that teachers give recommendations,” Emma said, “A lot of times students aren’t sure what level of course to pick because they haven’t yet taken the course. Having teachers’ input is helpful because it tells the students what they think is right for them.”

Teachers' recommendations weigh a lot into what classes students will be taking next year. Commonly this is based on the grades that kids get, for example if their grade is high enough, they can get into an honors class. This system is set in place to help make sure students are ready for whatever they are planning to take, and will be able to succeed. It can also take some stress off of students' backs. Though, decisions made by teachers can be overridden through a formal process within the school. 

“I haven’t done a lot of planning for my classes except for the meetings I’ve had with some of my teachers and talking about what I want next year and what they recommend for me.” Mia said. 

“I’ve put a lot of thought into choosing my classes,” Emma said, “I think it is important to know what you want to do freshman year so you can plan your electives and other classes for future years in high school. I think it also helps eliminate stress on certain course selections because you have a plan for what you want to do.”

Students have different ways of deciding what courses to take next year, as well as upcoming years. The help that is provided can be some people’s main way of making their choice, for others it’s a plan that was already set out. Giving this freedom allows kids to be able to figure out on their own how they want to go about it.

“The classes I’m most excited about taking next year are my electives,” Emma said, “I’m taking two semester business classes, financial accounting and business law and ethics. I’m most excited for these classes because business is something I’m looking forward to pursuing in college. I’m also in DECA and one of the classes helps you strongly with a specific DECA category.”

“I’m taking painting and drawing two next year as my elective because I took painting and drawing one this year and really enjoyed it,” Mia said, “It was really calm and relaxing, plus the teacher is really nice. Also, I’m really looking forward to taking child development in the future because I enjoy babysitting and getting to hang out with kids, so it’ll be a good class for me.”

Electives are something chosen completely by what the students want to do. The deciding factor can be many different things for kids, as everyone plans to have a different experience in high school. There are many options of classes for students, ranging from drama to computer sciences, which can suit everyone’s individual interests. 

It’s the third quarter of senior year, and seniors are facing new challenges and responsibilities while preparing for their life after high school, whether it be college, work, trade, or the military. Balancing academics and extracurriculars can be overwhelming, but the right strategies can make things smoother.

Upperclassmen should take advantage of every resource that’s available, especially since teachers and counselors have advice to give. Whether it’s about preparing for life after graduation or handling the challenges of senior year, their guidance can make a significant difference.

“Focusing on figuring out what you do and don’t enjoy, instead of trying to follow a checklist, and it is more about zoning in on what matters to you, that’s what will most matter beyond high school,” Mrs. Minty, BHS counselor, said.“Once you know what you want, put time into it and do research, and do what you want and not what others want.” 

A valuable lesson a student can learn is being social, whether it is with staff or other peers. Being social with staff can help one in the future when needing a recommendation or needing extra help, while social relationships can help when wanting to create bonds that stay after high school. Both of these social situations can help in the future with communication and being professional.

“The most important lesson students can learn here at BHS is the value of establishing meaningful relationships and connections with the community,” Mrs. Murphy, BHS counselor, said. “Students create bonds with their peers, teachers, and other staff here that will serve them well in the future, and I think learning how to make those connections and maintaining the relationships is a very important life skill.”

While students are still at BHS, they should get involved in reading expectations that are provided already from the school. In the future, more complicated documents are provided and things have deadlines that cannot be missed. To prevent missing things, the best thing students can do is stay organized on top of events and assignments so they can keep those productive habits for the future. 

“While still at BHS, read the syllabus/course expectations. After college, this turns into reading your benefits package, tax forms, etc. Use an online calendar consistently, enter every single thing in it unless you are okay with missing it,” Dr. Gould, BHS psychology teacher, said.

After leaving high school, moving to a new environment that someone has never experienced before can make it easy to make mistakes. A mistake that may be made is focusing on what others are doing and following them instead of focusing on what one personally wants to do. Learning from these mistakes while still in high school can be helpful for the future so ethical decisions are made.

“Common mistakes can be made financially, to be careful when opening credit cards and spending more than you can afford. Also, instead of doing what you think you should do or what others should do tends to not work out, but doing what you actually enjoy will lead to success.” Mrs. Minty said. 

There are many skills upperclassmen can practice that can benefit them in the future, relating to their peers and advocating for themselves, which can be helpful in the future when being one is off on their own, and practicing these skills now can strengthen them for the future.

“While still enrolled at BHS, students should practice skills in a safe and comfortable environment where they are familiar with their teachers, peers and staff,” Mrs. Murphy said. “These skills include advocating for themselves, writing professional emails, engaging with their peers in class discussions, getting involved in extracurricular activities, or volunteering in the community. These are all transferable skills to not only college classrooms, but life situations.” 

Creating good habits now and continuing with them can help one stay productive in the future when things get busy, since college or work can be hard at times. 

“Getting into good habits of not doing homework in bed and getting enough sleep at night sets everyone up for success in learning and cuts down on stressors,” Dr. Gould said. “It is also helpful to learn how to cook and keep your clothes/stuff clean.” 

Thinking and planning out ideas for the future can be stressful and can often consume a lot of time. However, it is essential to find time to focus on one’s self and prioritize time for other things like getting enough sleep, having more downtime, and not overdoing things.

“Things that are often overlooked are not having more fun and downtime, and also getting enough sleep which is important for many other things, and also working hard but not overdoing things.” Mrs. Minty said. 

Preparation and training on what one wants to accomplish can be helpful for finding the career that is right for them to ensure success.

“After high school, advice would be to prepare themselves for whatever it is they are entering into, whether it is a 4 or 2 year college, a trade, or the military, or work,” Mrs. Murphy said. “Being prepared and having studied and practiced whatever your craft is will help you no matter what.”