Career Day at Rock Terrace School

Students at Rock Terrace School recently had the opportunity to explore future careers during a schoolwide Career Day, held in partnership with the Montgomery County Career Advising Program.

The event brought together speakers from across the community to share work experiences, volunteer roles and personal journeys, including some current Community and Career Connections (CCC) and Transition Training for Independence (TTI) students. Their stories and experiences gave students a firsthand look at the many pathways to independence, employment and community engagement.

Students pre-selected two speakers they wanted to hear from and rotated through presentations. Speakers represented paid and volunteer experiences in a variety of industries and interests, from animal care and food service to education, transportation, hospitality and community service.

One highlight was Andrew Shaw who works at ENDependence of Northern Virginia teaching people with disabilities how to ride the bus and Metro system independently. 

“I am most excited to hear from Andrew because he is very engaging and I love transportation,” Matteo said. “Today, I learned that my city limit is Shady Grove. It made me excited to learn about the city routes.”

Other students also shared their positive impressions of the event.

“I love Career Day,” said another student, Ernest. “It helps keep me occupied.”

Families and presenters also shared how impactful the experience was. After participating, one parent said her son, who volunteers at Imagination State, left feeling energized and inspired.

“Julian is on fire now! Hasn't stopped chatting since we left,” Angela Bradford shared. “He says he wants to spend his life helping people in the disabled community. It will be a day we both remember, always.”