Alumni returned to Watkins Mill High School to share stories about pathways to their current careers and give advice to students at the first ever Watkins Mill Career Day on March 24.

The goal of career day was to have alumni show students the experience of finding the right career and to help students start thinking about what they want to do in the future. School counselor Adam Saltzman helped organize the event when alumni Jasmine Williams contacted the school with the idea.

Information was given on how to remain successful throughout college and what to do when encountering an opportunity. “Always take a great opportunity when it’s given,” Williams said. “You don’t want to pick a opportunity that you won’t like in the future.”

Saltzman plans on making career day an annual event. “The best part was just letting the students here [know] my story,” class of 2011 alum Kyle Khuen said. “Letting them see that I was once where they were, and that anything is possible if you work hard for it.”

The main advice given to students is they do not have to know what they want to do right away, many alums did not and were able to share their experiences. They recommended community college, where students will be able to save money, and taking general studies classes to explore different career paths along the way.  

Many students are glad that the alumni came to talk about their experiences throughout high school and college. “It was very interesting and entertaining to learn about the process and all the work they had to do,” junior Jennifer Porras said. “It was great for them to show us the point on how they got to where they are today.”

Other students were relieved that alumni came back to tell them about the opportunities given in college. The alumni “gave me a lot of advice on college and that it’s okay to switch careers in college. It gave me a good perspective on what I’m supposed to do,” freshman Amelia Burton said. “I’d like to have [career day] again.”