Career Day Offers Words Of Wisdom Students Told To Set Goals High
Stay in school. Study hard. Go to college.
Those were some of the messages given to 250 middle school students Friday at Career Day 1998, a daylong fair at Spokane Community College designed to introduce minority students to role models and possible careers.
“Do you want to be the person at McDonald’s?” asked guest speaker Joy Hardiman, a noted African American historian and executive director of Evergreen State College’s Tacoma campus.
“Standing behind the grill making minimum wage when you’re 35 years old? … It’s a dead end. You don’t answer the phone because it might be the bill collector. … Without a college education, you can’t help yourself or your community.”
Seventh- and eighth-graders from District 81 schools gathered at the Lair-Student Auditorium to watch a rap performance, listen to Hardiman and meet Medal of Honor winner Vernon J. Baker.
During the opening session, the celebrated World War II hero awarded Sillia Lockridge, a Sacajawea eighth-grader, with the first Vernon J. Baker Scholarship. The $1,500 scholarship will allow her to attend either SCC or Spokane Falls Community College when she graduates from high school. The award was established with a gift from Bethel AME Church and will be given annually using donations from the community.
“I’m looking at the future of America, right here in this room,” Baker told the students. “All you have to do is take the ball and run with it.”
Career Day 1998 was sponsored by the community colleges’ multicultural student services program and Spokane School District 81.
The event inspires students, said Denise Osei, SCC’s multicultural specialist.
“It’s making me think more of what I want to be,” said Natasha Quitugun, an eighth-grader from Chase Middle School.
Throughout the day, students were able to talk to doctors, social workers, accountants and other people representing various professions. They also spent time talking to Baker and Hardiman, who emphasized the importance of giving back to the community.
“You are not inferior,” Hardiman told them. “You are gifted individuals.” , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo