Students advised to make right choices at Career Day

The choices that students make today, ultimately affect the future.

This was the message coming out of the career day at the Mountain View Adventist Academy (MVAA) Secondary School last Thursday, January 19.{{more}}

The event was held under the theme ‘Prepared today, Empowered tomorrow’ and according to the institution’s principal Anthony Ollivierre, while the school has participated in the Ministry of Education’s career day activity, this is the first time that he and his staff have embarked on the occasion on such a large scale at the school.

He explained that it had been customary for third form students, just as they enter the fourth form, to receive career guidance.

“We discuss things like how to succeed, how to choose a career, what is a career, goal setting and so forth,” Ollivierre explained.

“So, students are given a chance to highlight a career, but we thought let’s do something for the entire school,” he continued.

Dr Hilary Bowman, Education Director for the Seventh Day Adventist Caribbean Union Conference and former principal of the institution lauded the idea of staging a career day.

“It is a very important activity in the lives of young people,” he said.

“That is exactly what school is for, to prepare our young men and women of today for them to become empowered tomorrow to be that citizen that would impact on our society,” Bowman continued.

A career is far different from a job, he contended, adding that a career entailed the use of one’s skills and talents.

Bowman explained that a career must fit each individual’s traits and lifestyles.

“Someone who doesn’t like children should never, ever choose teaching as a career,” he explained.

Bowman challenged the students of the MVAA to examine their aims, goals, objectives and to look at what type of impact they wanted to have on society.

Pastor Dermoth Baptiste, while also complimenting the principal and staff for putting on the programme, reminded the students that the choices they make today have a direct impact on their future.

“Around the country, there are a number of people who are wandering hopelessly, not knowing what they are about; they are the same ones who become involved in all sorts of criminal activity, all because of wrong choices,” Baptiste said.

They did not recognize who they are, and did not put enough emphasis on what they would like to become, he continued. (DD)