More Than 200 High School Sophomores from 9 Philadelphia Public Schools Toured Businesses throughout the City, Explored Career Opportunities
PHILADELPHIA — Attorney General Josh Shapiro is today thanking the more than 200 School District of Philadelphia students who participated in the Office of Attorney General’s first annual Career Week and the many Philadelphia business partners who made the initiative possible. From March 25th through 29th, students toured businesses throughout the city and engaged with professionals to learn about potential career paths. Career Week was created with the goal of exposing students to options for their future, showing them pathways to success, and giving them an opportunity to envision themselves in a professional environment.
Students were matched by the School District with a site visit that corresponded their expressed interests and career goals. Groups visited the Office of Attorney General, Drexel University, the Philadelphia Inquirer, GSK, Aramark, Brownstein Group, The Q Show, The Quincy Harris Morning Show, and The Franklin Institute. The following departments facilitated Career Week on behalf of the School District of Philadelphia: Office of Strategic Partnerships, Office of the Arts, and Office of Career & Technical Education.
Attorney General Shapiro kicked off Career Week on Monday, March 25 with Superintendent Hite at Drexel University. Attorney General Shapiro also joined students from Strawberry Mansion High School on their visit to FOX29’s The Q Show on Friday, March 29.
“For too many Philadelphia students, the high rises of Center City feel a world away from their neighborhood high schools, even though they only a mile apart,” said Attorney General Shapiro. “The Office of Attorney General launched Career Week to bridge this gap and expose young people to the many opportunities that are available to them. These students inspire me. We have a collective responsibility to step up for our young people and help them reach their full potential; in turn, they will no doubt improve our world.”
“One of our Anchor Goals within the School District of Philadelphia is to ensure that every student graduates ready for college and career, so we are proud to partner with the Office of the Attorney General to provide this Career Week experience to students from across the city,” said School District of Philadelphia Superintendent Dr. William Hite. “We work hard to ensure our students have the tools they need to be successful after graduation, and we are hopeful that today’s event will inspire our students to be excited about pursuing a variety of careers here in Philadelphia.”
Students from the following schools participated in Career Week: Roxborough High School, Dobbins Technical High School, Philadelphia High School for Girls, Hill-Freedman World Academy, Martin Luther King High School, Thomas Alva Edison High School, George Washington High School, Lincoln High School, and Strawberry Mansion High School. The students had this to say about their experience:
“So many of our communities have been plagued by gun violence. Gun violence has directly affected my friends and family. I would like to just say thank you for the opportunity to participate in Career Week. I learned a lot from this experience, and it has helped give me hope for a way out. I feel this is something all students from the district should have an opportunity to participate in.” -Jahmya Bishop, Student, Lincoln High School
“I would like to thank the Attorney General for Career Week. I go to George Washington and my school visited your office for Career Week. Having the chance to see all of what your agents do to help our community really had an impact on me. And thank you for what you are doing to help Kensington. I live in Kensington, and it’s home to a lot of good people.” –Vanessa Santiago, Student, George Washington High School
My name is Joseph Roman and I’m in the Culinary Arts program at Edison High School. I visited Aramark and talked with their Executive Chef. He talked with us about his career as a chef, what it’s like to work for Aramark, how we too can work for Aramark, and what it was like when he met and cooked for Gordon Ramsey. It was really cool.” -Joseph Roman, Student, Culinary Arts Program, Edison High School
“My name is Mylikai Jackson-Smith and I’m in the journalism program at Hill-Freedman Academy. My visit was with the Philadelphia Inquirer. I had an opportunity to work with Inquirer staff on a Career Week advertisement that will actually get published. That was a really cool and exciting experience.” -Mylikai Jackson-Smith, Student, Journalism Program, Hill-Freedman World Academy
Attorney General Shapiro and Superintendent Hite also announced that they will run Career Week annually, ensuring that future generations of students will receive the same educational opportunity.
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