A mayor, an investigator, a chef, a lawyer, an author, a basketball instructor, a news reporter, an allergist, an HVAC repair man, and many more- all stood before eager middle-school students during Cheatham Middle School’s (CMS) annual Career Day. During a two hour block on the morning of November 15, 27 professionals from a wide array of fields spoke, interacted, and answered questions from 5th through 8th-graders.
CMS has been hosting Career Day since 1998 when Jeanne Rose brought it over from Sycamore Middle School. The school’s 7th and 8th-grade counselor, Tara Canterbury, took over the efforts when Rose left eight years ago.
“The students need to hear about careers that differ from the ones they see in their everyday lives,” says Canterbury.
Alongside Mary Griggs, the CMS 5th and 6th-grade counselor, Canterbury spends months organizing and coordinating the beneficial event that both students and local professionals gain so much from.
“In addition to this, I do several types of exploration projects with students to help them find a career they love. If you are not happy within the job where you spend most of your day, you probably are not a happy person,” she says. “I want each of my students to find a career that makes them as happy as I am. That is my goal in all of this.”
