Inspiring executives to help students imagine their future

Steve Parker represented The Harraseeket Foundation in a panel discussion for c-suite education and business executives. It was organized by Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax County Economic Development Authority and Educate Fairfax. The focus was on re-imagining the workforce development experience and contributing to student post-secondary success. The panel featured Dr. Michelle Reid, Division Superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools and five companies and nonprofits, including Harraseeket, that support students.

The executives heard about Harraseeket’s work since expanding to Fairfax County Public Schools last year, helping hundreds of students at Herndon High School imagine their future -- workshops and fairs involving scores of employers and volunteers; mentoring; and at-work experiences.

Workshop on preparing for the workplace

We invited a panel of employers to answer questions about internships. The panel included a recent Herndon High School graduate, a moving company executive, a financial planner, a former police officer and lawyer, an Air Force veteran, and a career coach.

Student questions included: How does an internship work? How do I go about networking to find an internship? Should I pursue an experience that reflects my career interests? How should I dress for work?  How should I think about boundaries at work?

 Winter-Spring mentoring

Community mentors worked regularly with dozens of Herndon High School students as they prepared for at-work experiences. For seniors, the crowning experience is an “externship,” in which, for a few weeks before graduation, they work at employers throughout Northern Virginia. 

In 1-on-1 conversations and in small groups, mentors addressed topics like choosing a career, resume writing, networking, getting references, and preparing for the workplace. 

At-work experience as reporters

Our partner Arlington Independent Media mentored students at Wakefield HS and Arlington Tech as they learned reporting and podcasting skills. The capstone project was a day of interviewing Arlington voters as they voted on election day. One of the podcasts created that day by a student at Arlington Tech can be accessed here.

Learning story-telling skills and making a difference

Throughout the school year, our partner Youthcast Media Group teaches high school students from under-resourced communities to produce multimedia journalism that highlights solutions to health and safety disparities where they live. They harness the power of their voices to creatively reflect, engage and empower their communities. In doing so, they also increase their college and career readiness and their agency.

Harraseeket provided stipends to students at Wakefield High School, Arlington Tech and Herndon High School who worked with seasoned journalists from Youthcast Media Group.

 Internship Fair

A two day internship fair at Herndon High School, for 400 students and 40 employers.

• The fair was two days for 6 hours each day, with waves of students coming through.

• Employers offered internships involved in transportation, automotive, electrical trades, finance, banking, medical/healthcare, senior living, hospitality, catering, restaurant/dining, technology, government contracting, real estate, law, architecture, human resources, aeronautics, retail, town government and nonprofits.

• Students also participated in presentations on the benefits of requesting mentors who will help students find, apply for, prepare for and excel at their internships. 

Designing Your Life 2-part workshop

This featured exercises from the bestselling book ‘Designing Your Life’ to help you imagine your future in the next 5-10-15 years of your life. We addressed some of the big questions in life: Who am I? Where am I going in the next few years of my life? What do I believe in? These two sessions were designed to open the door to thinking about your life and the next few years as a series of possibilities whose outcome has yet to be determined. For example: Does the work I imagine doing align with my personal values? What would I do if money were no object?

Deciding on a Major

Students from Langley HS, Woodbridge HS, Eleanor Roosevelt HS, McLean HS and Frederick Douglas HS attended a seminar described this way:

"Planning on applying to college soon but not sure how to answer the question, What do you want to major in? Deciding on a major can feel stressful, but it doesn’t have to be! It’s simply a matter of doing some personal exploration to figure out what motivates you in life. What are you really good at? What do you care about in the world? We’ll tackle these questions and more in this webinar and help you begin building a pathway to a future that’s fulfilling, interesting and meaningful!"

Students engaged in a different exercises, including creating and organizing post-it notes to learn about their preferences. Here is a picture of what post-it notes doing this exercise look like.

 High School Vocation Fair

A 3-hour program for 80 students and their parents designed to encourage conversations about making more informed vocation decisions. Students from eight different high schools attended.

Twenty-three panelists in breakout sessions shared reflections on the paths they’ve travelled and the lessons they’ve learned. Panelists included three guidance counselors, a financial planner, and eight young adults with a variety of life experiences and fascinating careers.

The students and their parents convened in one group for lunch and a panel titled ‘How trying different stiff can result in surprising careers."

Really learning about college — from college students

Students from college chat with high school students about questions that admissions officers might not discusss. Questions like:

How is college life different from high school? How are classes different from high school classes?  Do you feel like you can express your opinions freely in class and on campus? Do you feel pressure to succeed in college?  From what sources?  Do you have to appear to be successful, or can you show yourself as you really are in and out of class, to friends and professors? What’s the day to day life like? How’s the schedule different? What was it like leaving home?  What’s it like coming home after being in college? How did your college choice work out?  How would you have done the college search differently? What is the social life like? How did you make friends? How did you get paired with roommates? What advice do you have about that?  How do you deal with conflicts with your roommates? Did you join a fraternity or sorority?  Why or why not? Describe your social life. How is it similar or different to your life when you were in high school? (Do you feel pressured to drink excessively or engage in risky behavior?  How do you deal with that pressure?) Do you ever feel unsafe in social or other situations? Did you ever observe your friends behaving inappropriately to other students? What was picking classes like?  What do you wish you’d done differently? How does picking your major work? Are you involved in any church activities in college?  What’s that like?  What other sports, clubs and other activities are you involved in?  What do you recommend?

Financial literacy

Harraseeket has supported multiple forums on financial literacy, covering topics like  budgeting, student debt and cost of living, banking, apps for dealing with finances, and saving.

Vocation forum

Over dinner, five mentors discussed with 4 dozen students and parents their career paths, the choices they made and what they’d learned.

Finding Meaning in Service

Here is the advertisement for this event:

“We have a finite amount of time to volunteer. Want to talk about why we do it, how to invest your volunteer hours more wisely and productively, and how to develop a deeper sense of purpose as you do it? We’ll discuss not only how service helps others, but also what it can do for your spirit and need for connection. In the second session, we’ll work together on individual plans for service. “

Big questions and practical outcomes

Students and young adults convened to imagine their future— not design it, but imagine its possibilities, together.

Starting with questions like, Who am I?  Where am I going in the next few years of my life?  What are my values?  What is important to me?  What do I believe in? 

The conversation then turned to imagining outcomes that affect choices in careers, work-life balance, where to live, and volunterring.

Friendsgiving: College students facing the real world

Over a “Friendsgiving” lunch the day after Thanksgiving, young adults met with students home from college to discuss the real world. What should be expected after college? What do you do about first jobs that might be “soul sucking”? What do you do about living at home e? What are the benefits and disadvantages? How is work life different from college life? (hint: it’s very different!) What did you wish you’d done differently in college?