What’s your day to day like? How did you end up in that career? What should I study in college? What does it mean to be a sports agent? to work at Human Rights Watch? to be a lawyer? to be an engineer? What makes a good journalist?
On a recent Thursday night, 27 parents and alumni came to the Lycée Français to participate in the annual Forum des Métiers, or career night, for tenth and eleventh graders. The evening gives these students, who are now choosing baccalaureate tracks and exploring colleges, an opportunity to talk with people in the working world about what they do and the path they took to get there. Students are rotated in small groups for 20-minute discussions on five careers of their choice.
Said Claudine Loi, LFNY parent who, along with Anne-Laure Revault, organized the event for the APL, “We have a huge diversity of professions in our parent and alumni community, and we saw a lot of interest among them to volunteer to share their advice and experience.”
Stéphane Lauer, correspondent for Le Monde, spoke with students about careers in journalism, “Work life may seem so far away to these students, but in organizing events like this, students have a chance to explore options. In my group, I emphasized the skill set which is so important in good journalism. To stand out, they have to have the ability to understand the context around the news and be able to delve deeper into an analysis of an event.”
Dr. Denise Barbut, who heads up the Neurovascular Division at Cornell University Medical School, had lots of questions from students about medical training in France versus the United States, and what baccalaureate track to choose. “Do lots of science and medicine internships in good places,” she said, “and get those SAT scores up.”
Barnone the most common advice shared from the alumni to students at the event was to pay careful attention to what they like and are passionate about, and what they already do well.
Said alumnus, Jonathan McIntosh (‘99), who studied graphic design and is now an art director at the creative agency, Manhattan Marketing Ensemble, “Nurture your hobbies and never lose the connection with what brings you creativity…and don’t forget the value of the LFNY alumni network when looking for a job.”
Alumna Joyce Bukuru (‘08) now in conflict management at Human Rights Watch focused on the practical. “Follow your interests and do internships. They will help you build a theme around what you are good at and build a resume.”
The students seemed to take away much from the evening and appreciated the opportunity to explore the myriad career choices before them. Eleventh grader Céline took to heart the advice to know what you’re good at and what you love. “I am very interested in politics and economics, and I am good at debate and public speaking. Law combines these things, and would be an interesting path for me,” she said.
Said eleventh-grade student Gabriel, “I am interested in food and perfume, and enjoyed learning about the International Flavors and Fragrances. I learned that it is a very collaborative industry, and that you don’t sit at your desk all day. It involves teamwork that balances science and also business.”
Tenth-grader Laura was happy to find out how much creativity is required in the workplace today. “I am a very creative person, and it’s nice to know that you can be creative and be happy at work.”
About the Author :
Elisabeth King joined the Lycée team in November 2011 as the school’s first director of communications. A francophile at heart, Elisabeth spent her junior year of college in Paris, and held her first job at the French Trade Office here in New York. She brings to the Lycée over 15 years of experience in media and communications in non-profits, government, news and business. She was previously executive vice president and director of strategy at ABI, Inc., a boutique public relations agency, and she worked as associate editor on two books co-authored by Todd Brewster and the late ABC News anchor Peter Jennings.