Shakopee High Schoolers Explore Career Options

10th-grader Alisa Greenhalgh isn’t sure what career she wants pursue, but as a piano and saxophone player and member of the school choir, she knows she loves music.

So it was natural that Greenhalgh found herself drawn to the McNally Smith College of Music booth Tuesday during the at the high school.

Greenhalgh’s eyes lit up as she listened to drummer and teacher Matt Edlund talk about opportunities in music while flipping a pair of drumsticks. The eyes of Greenhalgh’s mother, however, told a different story.

“She has to be able to eat,” Kumi Greenhalgh said with her eyes crinkling. She said her daughter used to say she wanted to be a teacher, but recently had said she was unsure.

“Make sure you check everywhere—not just music,” Greenhalgh called to her daughter as she left the music booth.

The 14th annual career fair, with professionals from nearly 100 careers, filled the commons area of the school. Several hundred students in grades 8-12 attended to learn about different careers and, at the same time, earn extra credit.

Kimberly Chu, an 11th-grader, said she visited every health care career booth. She wants to be either a neurologist or a dentist.

“I find them really fascinating,” she said of the two careers.

Her friend and fellow junior Colleen Dao said she was interested in a pharmaceutical career, in part because she thought her organizational skills would be an asset.

Two new careers represented at Tuesday's fair were interior design and information technology. Mark Bury, who represented the information technology career, said he had spoken with many students who expressed interests in developing software applications.

“We’re the foundation level that needs to be set before the applications can be built,” he explained to one group of boys and parents.

Alisa Greenhalgh and her mother continued making the rounds and visited booths featuring careers from veterinarian to death examiner, turning away from the banking professionals.

“I know this (her career) is something she needs to discover for herself,” Alisa’s mother said. “As long as she aims high, she’ll have opportunities.”