Virtual Career Day a hit at FIS
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Farragut Intermediate School fifth-grader Kaylee Lucky looks up from her Virtual Career Day activities. - Photos submitted
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FIS fifth-grade teacher Leonard Stark. - Photos submitted
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Dog Trainer Sabrina Childs demonstrates her training expertise. - Photos submitted
The COVID-19 pandemic did not deter Farragut Intermediate School counselors from making sure their fifth-graders could participate in the school’s annual Career Day Friday, March 12.
They simply took the event online.
“We (didn’t have) our usual Career Day,” FIS school counselor Carol Slatas said. “This year, we did it where all the speakers were virtual.
“We’re still trying to do those extra things, beyond the classroom activities, you know, special events and things for our students, so I was happy to still be able to offer it this year.”
Despite being virtual, she said the day went “really well — super smooth.
“We might even consider doing it this way in the future because some of the speakers were able to show the students where they were and their space at work, versus if they were to come into the (school) building they wouldn’t be able to do that.
“So, there were definitely some things that were really cool about doing it this way that we might consider doing it this way in the future, even if we’re not in the middle of a pandemic,” Slatas said.
She said the entire fifth grade — about 350 students — participated in Career Day, hearing from 24 speakers who attended virtually as well.
“It was cool,” Slatas said. “This allowed both the in-person and virtual students to participate, which was great.”
Each fifth-grader got an individual schedule based on who they wanted to see.
“They all got to see three speakers,” Slatas added.
Those speakers ranged from insurance agents, such as Derek Wright with Graham and Cook Insurance in Farragut, to clinical psychologist Jennifer Bishop, mechanical engineer Mike Drayton, investment/compliance attorney Patricia Alcamo, airline pilot Bret Buchanan, registered nurse Tanner Adams, construction company chief financial officer Bryan McIsaac and FBI supervisory special agent Anthony Crabtree, among others.
“We used Microsoft Teams to connect with the speakers since we were not allowed to have any visitors — any outside people — come into the school,” she noted.
Career Day is part of the state’s standards of school counselors, Slatas said.
“Part of our state standards involves career exploration,” she explained. “This is a great opportunity for the kids to find out about different careers, especially for kids who haven’t been exposed to new careers.
“We wanted to still offer Career Day, so we had to just re-imagine what that would look like,” Slatas added. “At the beginning of the year, the counseling advisory committee got together and helped figure out how to make it happen.”
Slatas said some of the students’ reactions were “sweet.”
“Some of the kids did write me in Canvass, which is a platforming, and said things like ‘this is great. Thank you.’”
