On August 17, the network partnered with Junior Achievement of Northern New England to give students a glimpse into the working world. Matt Richard and Emily Travers participated in a round-robin panel discussion called the “Careers Speed Dating Workshop” as part of Junior Achievement’s annual Summer Institute.

During the event, groups of three high-school students rotated through several information interviews in their groups every four minutes over the course of two hours to meet each guest and learn about his/her career, career path & choices, goals, and day to day work. iCAN volunteers discussed day to day work, how they got to their current role, company culture, work environment, and their plans for the future.

The students were quite impressive and sharing our experience as recent college graduates was very rewarding. Students were teeming with questions about internships, helpful classes for future employment and the all-important quest for the first job after college. Matt Richard answered the torrent of questions to the best of his ability and found if difficult to wrap up the engaging discussions in the allotted time. The iCAN volunteers added a different “flavor” to the exercise because of our semi-recent entrance into the work force and our diverse employment choices.

Here’s some feedback from the JA Summer Institute week-long event that highlights experiences from the Careers Speed Dating Workshop:

My favorite part of the week was the Careers Speed Dating because it taught me soft skills as well as introduced me to many different career options.

Kelly N., Student Participant

I loved being able to network with people across different fields. Even if it wasn’t a field I was interested in, they still offered advice.

Alyssa A., Student Participant

I look forward to working with iCAN again in the near future.

Phil Symons, Program Manager for Junior Achievement of Northern New England