Career Partnership Day
2008
The 15th annual Career Partnership Day, sponsored by the Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with Junior Achievement, was held on March 13, 2008. The event was a tremendous success, judging from responses from both hosts and students. Thirty-four organizations, including businesses, government agencies, and others, hosted a total of one-hundred fifteen B-CC students. Each student had the opportunity to shadow professionals in a career of potential interest during an average day of work.
The day began with a breakfast at B-CC High School. Following a brief program, the Cynthia Clarke Career Builders Award* was presented to State of Maryland, Office of the Public Defender, Montgomery County. Assistant Public Defender, Brenda Mader, accepted the award on behalf of the OPD.
2008 Career Partnership Day – March 13, 2008
Fall 2008 INTERNSHIP BUSINESS SPONSORS
We owe a debt of gratitude to the following businesses, government agencies, and other organizations that have taken our interns and will provide mentors throughout the Fall 2008 semester:
AFS Finanacial Group, Bethesda Cares, Inc., Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad, Bethesda Elementary School, Bethesda Magazine, Bethesda Urban Partnership, Black's Bar & Kitchen, Burt Associates Inc., Calvert Group, Chevy Chase Bank, Chevy Chase Land Company, Consumer Products Safety Commission, Crowne Plaza Hotel-Bethesda, Stanley Mayer, D.D.S., Eagle Bank, Elite Personnel, Euro Motorcars, STM Architects, Imagination Stage, Madison Design Group/RGM Graphics, Montgomery County Police Dept., 2nd District, McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurant, Mobile Video, Naval Medical Research Cdenter, NIA-NOAA Recreation & Welfare, Office of the Public Defender, Montgomery County, Our Lady of Lourdes Elementary School, Pumphrey's Funeral Home, Salon A, Sibley Hospital, Suburban Hospital, University of Maryland-Linguistics Lab, Voice of America.
2007
The 14th annual Career Partnership Day, sponsored by the Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce and Junior Achievement, was held on March 8, 2007. The event was a tremendous success, judging from responses received. One hundred twenty-seven B-CC students participated in the job-shadowing day in which they learned about a career of potential interest by observing people in the workplace.
The day began at B-CC with a breakfast provided by Chevy Chase Bank for participating students and their sponsors. A brief program followed during which remarks were made by Suzanne Rosetti, District Executive, Chevy Chase Bank, and Board Member and Vice President of Community Development of the B-CC Chamber of Commerce; Paul Kappel, Executive Vice President of Junior Achievement of the National Capital Area; and Sean Bulson, B-CC Principal, who presented the 2007 Cynthia Clarke Career Builders Award to David Dabney, Executive Director of the Bethesda Urban Partnership. This award, named after Mrs. Clarke (a former B-CC teacher), is given every year in her honor to a business, government agency, or individual(s) who has been either an effective business partner with the school, and/or has given ongoing commitment to the students of B-CC. Dave Dabney, the recipient of this year’s Career Builders Award, has been a stalwart supporter of the Career Partnership Program since its inception and is a true friend of B-CC.
Following breakfast, approximately thirty-five hosts made a special effort to both accommodate the large number of students participating and provide them with events that were both interesting and informative for the students. For example, the U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission took one group of students on a tour of their testing labs in Gaithersburg, while another student group spent the day at USCPSC headquarters where they saw, among other things, a demonstration of some potentially hazardous products that have been banned by the Commission. Chevy Chase Bank conducted practice “interviews” with the students and gave them pointers on what to do (and what NOT to do) during an interview. Students interested in engineering visited Lockheed Martin and the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. The Naval Medical Research Center and the University of Maryland Linguistics Lab hosted students interested in medical research; the University of Maryland group was especially pleased by the opportunity to attend some college classes AND be on site in the afternoon to watch the B-CC Barons defeat Largo High School in the semi-final round of the state basketball tournament.
Yet another group of students witnessed the legal system in action by spending the day at the Office of the Public Defender; these students met with a group of public defense attorneys whose responses to student questions subsequently led to a spirited discussion on the morals and ethics associated with the work of a public defender. Marisol Williams, a junior who is interested in pursuing a law degree, was successful in landing a summer internship with one of the public defense attorneys as a result of her participation in Career Partnership Day. A group of twelve students interested in careers focusing on languages, journalism, broadcast news, web design and marketing spent a very enjoyable and informative day at Voice of America, where they had the rare opportunity of sitting in on an editorial meeting with bureau chiefs from around the world and subsequently hearing news being broadcast in forty-six languages.
Response to this year’s program was almost universally positive, as evidenced by the following excerpts from thank you letters and evaluations written by students:
Maria Benson (Imagination Stage): “It was wonderful being able to see professionals in a field in which I am interested and to learn how they came to be where they are.”
Phaon Derr (Lockheed Martin): “I especially enjoyed learning about the radar systems currently being developed by Lockheed Martin.”
Heather Ivess (Naval Medical Research Center): “Going to the OR and watching the pig surgery as a part of NMRC blood research was a once in a lifetime experience!”
Aileen Tschiderer (Voice of America): “I loved visiting VOA. I had never heard of it before and having the opportunity to learn about its mission and work was so interesting. It definitely sparked an interest in communications for me.”
Selam Kassa (U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Lab): “My favorite part was seeing a demonstration of fireworks and also going to the chemistry lab.”
Marcel Klimo (NIH Recreation Welfare): “The assignment was exactly what I wanted, and I especially enjoyed the discussion with Mr. Schools about the many applications of the non-profit business model.”
The following businesses and government agencies participated in Career Partnership Day:
Bethesda Cares, Bethesda Elementary School, Bethesda Urban Partnership, Black’s Bar & Kitchen,
Burt Associates Inc., Calvert Group, Chevy Chase Bank, Chevy Chase Land Company, Dr. Stanley Mayer, DDS,
Elite Personnel, Esprit Rainbow Travel, Eruo Motorcars, GTM Architects, Imagination Stage, Interior Impressions, Inc., Lockheed Martin, McCormick & Schmick’s, Montgomery County Police Department – Second District, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Naval Medical Research Center, NIH Recreation Welfare
NIH – Recreation Therapy Section – Rehabilitation Medicine Department, Office of the Public Defender, Our Lady of Lourdes Elementary School, Salon A, State Farm - Ray Mensah Agency, The Children’s Inn at NIH, The Folger Shakespeare Library, The Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce, The Madison Design Group/RGM Graphics, The Palisades Apartments, The U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission – Headquarters, The U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission - Lab, The University of Maryland – Linguistics Research Lab, Voice of America
2006
The 13th annual Career Partnership Day, sponsored by the Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with Junior Achievement, was held on March 22. The event was a tremendous success, judging from responses from both students and businesses. One hundred twenty-six B-CC students, together with approximately 20 students from Walter Johnson and Walt Whitman combined, participated in the job-shadowing day in which they learned about a career of potential interest by observing people in the workplace.
Approximately fifty business sponsors made a special effort to both accommodate the large number of students participating and to construct events that were both interesting and informative for the students. For example, the Consumer Product Safety Commission took the students on a tour of their testing labs in Gaithersburg, followed by lunch with Commissioner Nancy Nord and a demonstration of some potentially hazardous products that have been banned by the Commission. Chevy Chase Bank conducted practice “interviews” with the students and gave them pointers on what to do (and what NOT to do) during an interview. Students interested in engineering visited Lockheed Martin where they learned about the WIN-T project and saw demonstrations of navigational systems and computers being installed in Hummers. Yet another group of students witnessed the legal system in action by spending the day at the Office of the Public Defender. After going to court and witnessing a civil trial, these students met with a group of public defense attorneys whose responses to student questions subsequently led to a spirited discussion on the morals and ethics associated with the work of a public defender.
The day began with a breakfast at Chevy Chase Bank headquarters and a brief program during which the Cynthia Clarke Career Builders Awards* were presented to Carol Brand, PTSA President, Dr. Richard McCarron, Naval Medical Research Center and Dr. Nancy Zeller, American University. This award, named after Mrs. Clarke, is given every year in her honor to a business, government agency, or individual(s) who has been either an effective business partner with the school, and/or, as is the case with this year’s awardees, has given ongoing commitment to the students of B-CC. The recipients of this year’s Career Builders Awards go to three B-CC parents who, for many years, have given tirelessly of themselves in ways that will affect both present and future B-CC students. Through their leadership, vision, willingness to take interns, and overall enthusiasm for the well being of all B-CC students, these “graduating” parents are most deserving recipients. Thank you!
Response to this year’s program was almost universally positive, as evidenced by the following excerpts from thank you letters and evaluations written by the students, and messages sent by business sponsors:
Theresa Danos (B-CC Rescue Squad): “Living the life of a hero for a day was certainly an amazing experience. My favorite part was going on the calls with the rescue squad and having the opportunity to talk with the chief.”
Keith Hill (The Madison Design Group/RGM Graphics): "I learned a lot about the graphic design field, and this experience opened a future career possibility for me. I enjoyed seeing the variety of products this company creates for its clients.”
Zachary Kohn (Office of Congressman Chris Van Hollen): “I thoroughly enjoyed spending the day at Congressman Van Hollen’s Rockville office. It was very interesting to see how staff works together to satisfy the needs of his constituents.”
Adrienne Lawson (McCormick and Schmicks): “I now know that there are twenty-eight ways to prepare and egg and that restaurant work can be compared to a Broadway production! The allusion to directing and performing made me rethink how I view the importance of my own part time job.”
From business sponsors:
Greg Hourigan, Hard Times Café: “Crystal (Reid) was a delight. She had a genuine interest in what makes a day in the life of a restaurant, from getting change at the bank, prepping for lunch, then taking a turn ‘behind the line’ to get real experience in preparing food for service. Career Partnership Day is a win/win, especially when you share the day with a winning student!”
The following businesses and government agencies participated in Career Partnership Day:
Aronson & Company; Bethesda Cares; Bethesda North Marriott; Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad, Burt Associates Inc., Calvert Group; Capitol Orthopedics & Rehabilitation; Chevy Chase Bank; Chevy Chase Cars; Chevy Chase Land Company; Consumer Products Safety Commission; Del Ray Animal Hospital; Dr. Stanley Mayer, DDS; Elite Personnel; Esprit Rainbow Travel; EruoMotorcars; Fort Myer Military Base; Grimm & Parker Architects; Guernsey Office Products; Hard Times Café; Hospice Caring, Inc.; Imagination Stage; Interior Impressions, Inc.; L’Academie de Cuisine; Our Lady of Lourdes Elementary School; Lerch, Early & Brewer; Lockheed Martin; Madison Design Group/RGM Graphics; McCormick & Schmick’s; Microvest Capital Management; Montgomery County Police Department – Bethesda District; National 4-H Council; Naval Medical Research Center; NIH Recreation Welfare; Office of Congressman Chris Van Hollen; Office of Public Defender; Ray Mensah Insurance Agency; Royal Fitness and Nutrition; Salon A; Spirent Communications; Suburban Hospital; Sullivan & Company; The Bethesda Urban Partnership; The children’s Inn at NIH; The Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce; The Jane Fairweather Team; The Palisades Apartments; Trawick & Associates; West Financial Group; YMCA of Bethesda
Special thanks to Classic Residence by Hyatt and Barwood Transportation
*The Cynthia Clarke Career Builder Award
This award is given every year in memory of Cynthia Clarke, former math teacher and internship coordinator, who founded Career Partnership Day more than 14 years ago. The award honors an individual, a business or government agency that has been an effective business partner with the school.