Career Series

Ed Lawton presented to about 15 interested 8th graders on what it takes to be an electrician. In addition, Ed shared his knowledge and background on construction and building houses. The students asked some insightful questions about tools needed on the job, asked how he became interested in being an electrician, and the types of continued education required. Ed shared some of the skills needed to be successful including excellent communication skills and mathematics. 

Our second presenter in our Career Exploration Series was a woman business owner and hairdresser, Melissa Mezzanotte of Salon Mezzmerize! Melissa presented to two groups of students. The first group focused on sharing her experience of becoming a hairdresser, what she wished she knew in high school to help prepare her for that field, and the education (and continued education) needed to become successful. She also touched upon the importance of soft skills and positive social media presence.

The second group learned about how to build a successful small business. She discussed classes in high school and her college path, in addition to the hard work, perseverance, and determination it takes to get a business not only up and running, but making it successful.

Dr. Jillian Sacco spoke about working as a registered nurse and then becoming a CRNA.  Yale paid for her to get her doctorate in anesthesia.  She advised students to spend time volunteering at the hospital in order to see how it operates and to get a feel for the different types of jobs offered there.  She also shared experiences of working in a female dominated field and determining how much autonomy students may want in a job.

Lieutenant Lara Marie Edmonds is part of the Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG Core), working as a lawyer for the US Navy. Lara shared her story about having various careers out of college and not knowing she wanted to pursue law until she was 30 years old.  Some themes of her talk were that the career path you choose does not need to be permanent and advised the students to just keep trying things and moving forward.  She also discussed her experiences working in a male dominated field and for the US Navy. 

Our very own Junior Johnson shared his career as a Branford Police Officer for 26 years, including a year at the Connecticut State Police Narcotics Task Force.

Junior shared that being a police officer requires certain skills such as creating relationships with those in the community, being polite, being fair but firm, and understanding cultural differences. Most importantly he shared common sense is essential to be not only successful, but safe.

Junior reviewed the process of becoming a police officer and what students need to know now if being in law enforcement is part of their future plan. He shared that a student's social media presence can make or break becoming an officer. Also, he recommended students should be versed in another language such as spanish. 

Junior shared that in a male dominated field, women are some of the finest officers!

Kevin Donohue, M&T Bank, presented to interested students about banking and finance. He reviewed the process of becoming a commercial lender, in addition to other fields of finance. 

Kevin stressed that working with others, maintaining professionalism, fostering relationships with clients, and having a strength in math is important to being successful in the banking field.  In whatever field is chosen, working with a bank and understanding personal finance is an essential skill for life!

John Turenne shared his experience and journey as an Executive Chef. John currently works in the Branford Public Schools as the Director of Food Services.

He started his journey as a teenager working in the restaurant industry and taking a culinary class in high school. When deciding his post high school plans, he continued with his interest in food and attended Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island. 

John shared that if students are interested in the culinary field, math is essential for converting recipes, science and chemistry for a successful recipe, and he highlighted the importance of language. More specifically, many basic food vocabulary is derived from the classical French language.

People in the culinary field need to stay focused, communicate effectively, multitask, and be able to manage a high stress and high pressure situation successfully.  

Lastly, it is important to remember that the food service industry is just that- SERVICE. Meaning you have to enjoy serving others, taking a step back, and putting others before yourself for the love of food. 

Autumn DiAdamo, Supervisor of Cytogenetics Laboratory at Yale and Kathleen McMahon-Brown, APRN Family Nurse Practitioner presented about their careers in the health field. 

Autumn shared that cytogenetics is the study of the genetics of the cell. Working in a lab means you do not have direct contact with patients, but are still an essential part of patient care. If you enjoy pattern recognition and logic problems, studying cells and chromosome patterns could be a good fit!

Kathleen shared there are many different avenues in the field of healthcare. You are working directly with patients, so being able to be non judgmental and non biased is essential. She encouraged shadowing opportunities to help determine which field may be interesting.