GONZALES — Students from Fairview Middle School heard from a large group of professionals at the third annual Fairview Middle School Career Day last Friday afternoon. Speakers from law enforcement, the medical field, education and other fields participated in the event that took place in the school’s fifth through eighth grade classrooms.
“Our students were happy to hear from such a wide range of speakers,” said Fairview Middle School Counselor and Career Day Committee Leader Juanita Zuniga. “This year Carol Caetano is the Career Pathways Coordinator for the District and with her help we were able to add more speakers for the students.”
Caetano was pleased that the students had the opportunity to listen to from so many speakers various organizations.
“The goal for our Career Day is to expose students to a variety of careers and help them to learn about what a person in that career really does,” Caetano said. “We also want our students to understand that there are no careers strictly for males or females. That anyone can do any career if they choose to and are will to work hard. We want our students to be passionate about their career choices.”
Gonzales High School alumni were represented at Career Day by Javier Galvan of the Monterey County Sheriff’s Department; Juan Daniel, a lieutenant from the Correction Training Facility at Soledad; and Jose Rios, an account manager with the Pacific Gas and Electric. Galvan is a 1987 Gonzales graduate, Daniel graduated from GUHS in 1989, and Rios is a 1978 Gonzales graduate.
“This was the first time I have spoken to the kids at Fairview, although I have made presentations at other schools,” Daniel said. “I thought it was fun and really cool that the students wanted to know about what I do. They asked me about the type of equipment we use on the job such as weapons, what it takes as far as education to work in a prison, and if there are a lot of female officers in the department.”
Galvan had a good time at the Career Day and likes giving back to the communities in South County and especially at the local schools.
“I really enjoyed presenting at Career Day,” said Galvan. “It’s my way of giving back as a Gonzales High alumni. I felt as if the students were really receptive as they asked a lot of questions and most classes tried on my raid vest with the sheriff logos.”
Other presenters at the Career Day from the fields of law and law enforcement were: Officer Jessica Mora of the Gonzales Police Department; Attorney Patricia Miranda of the Miranda Law Group; and Paralegal Ingrid Morales. Presenters from the medical and dental field included: Chris Flynn, school nurse at Fairview Middle School; Jonathan Torres, pre-med student at Stanford; Dr. Luciano Del Toro; Iris Medina of Salinas Valley Health Professions; Miguel Vargas, physical therapist; Christina Valero Rondez, nurse educator; Dr. David Ramirez, dentist; Robert Porrez, orthopedic sales.
Also presenting at Career Day were: Nancy Tinajero, multimedia journalist; Keith Walheim, animator; Alexandria Cervantes, computer science instructor; Eric Barajas, bilingual education specialist; Jose Moran, director of community relations; Cecilia Birmingham, Careers in Agriculture; Mark Sanchez, Carpenters Apprenticeship Program; Cici Seibel, auditor (CPA); Vahid Motazedian, software engineer; Ben Velez, Luigi’s Restaurant; Jazmin Lopez, special projects manager, Pisoni Vineyards; Carlos Chavez, Wells Fargo Bank; Juli Gil, Central Coast Sign and Design; Bryan Fernandez, Universal Tech Institute; and Asheesh Williams, professional indie hip-hop recording artist; and Charlie Trementozzi, teacher.
Williams enjoyed presenting his knowledge of music and experience as a Christian hip-hop artist.
“The kids were definitely receptive and seemed to be paying close attention during my presentation,” Williams said. “I am blessed with a profession in music entertainment as an independent Christian hip-hop artist, so if was fairly easy to get them interested through the draw of rap and hip-hop music and lingo.”
