Career Day brings professionals to high school

Havre High School students had a chance to listen to professionals from careers they may not have considered at the school's Career Day Wednesday.

Many members of the community who have made a living in fields, such as graphic design, medical and various trades, came to speak to the high school students and answer their questions in the Havre High classrooms and auditorium.

Many representatives from Montana State University-Northern, including Electrical Engineering Professor Trygve "Spike" Magelssen and chef Becky Toth.

Havre High School Principal Craig Mueller said Career Day is meant to give students a chance to learn about career paths they may not know about or have not considered before. Many people from a wide array of careers came to the high school to speak about their own experiences in their lines of work and their lives.

Mueller said there were many people from Havre businesses, as well as Rocky Boy and Box Elder professionals.

"I've gotten great feedback," Mueller said. "The juniors and seniors really saw the value. I got good ideas from faculty members about how to make it more engaging."

Muellers said the list of professionals was chosen by the demand from the students. Students signed up for careers they were interested in learning about and then were assigned to a classroom where the professional would be speaking.

This was the first Career Day Mueller has been a part of, he said. There was no such event last year, but Have High School has had a similar day in years past.

Career Day was made possible through the Perkins Nontraditional Grant which compensated Stacy Rismond, a substitute teacher for Havre Public Schools, for coordinating speakers to come to the high school.

"All of the people who came and spoke were volunteers," Mueller said. "The grant was for planning; so the person who made the phone calls could get some compensation."

The grant money is also used for field trips to take students to visit job sites to learn about possible career choices, mostly in technical areas.

Mueller said there was great feedback from the professionals as well.

"We got a great response - a great turnout," Mueller said. "Mrs. Rismond got as much positive feedback saying they were excited to come out to the high school."

Mueller said they plan to host Career Day again next year, but he is not sure how it will be organized. It may be changed somewhat so the freshman and sophomores who partook in Wednesday's Career Day do not have an identical experience next year.

Mueller sent out a special thank you to Rismond, members of the career committee, the high school counselors and Kip Lewis, the assistant principal.