The Mustang Career Partnership Program hosted a Science, Technology, Engineering/Mathematics (STEM) Field Career Panel last Friday during all lunch periods. This event allowed students the opportunity to listen in on four different professionals who work within their careers. Throughout the panel, the professionals in attendance discussed both their career pathways and helpful tips and tricks for pursuing careers within the field.
Guidance Counselor Tom Daugherty had a significant impact on both the organization of this specific panel as well as past career panels through the Mustang Career Partnership Program. In the fall, the program hosted its first panel directed toward students interested in careers within the medical field. As the STEM Field Career Panel was the second panel hosted for the 2023–2024 school year, Daugherty talked about the benefits of hosting this event.
“We’re actively connecting students with panelists who are in the field,” Daugherty explained. “So if there are any particular questions about engineering, data science, or anything that comes up, students can have an opportunity to ask questions specifically of the panelists and hear exactly what they do.”
The panel was tailored towards certain science-related classes and students of interest. Students of any grade level were able to stop in during their lunch period in the Large Forum Room, F215.
“So our model is that we will have five panels with the same four people,” Daugherty clarifies. “We invited some classes, including Project Lead the Way, along with some of our upper-level physics classes, so they could listen to the presentation and have the option to ask different questions of the panelists.”
Panelists in attendance included Head of Data Science for Calamos Investments Kevin Crouch, Independent Consultant for TP3 Consulting Ken Edwards, Global Tech Sr. Program Manager for McDonald’s Corporation Karen Palagi, and Sr. Principal Development Engineer for Panduit Corporation Thuc Vu.
Kevin Crouch, one of the four panelists, had participated in discussions similar to Metea’s in the past for college students. He advocates for taking advantage of the opportunities provided.
“We have a lot of experience here, and I hope we can help you navigate through some of the questions that aren’t straightforward,” Crouch said. “This definitely can give students an advantage over a lot of people who wouldn’t get advice from opportunities like this.”
His main message for students is to discover new career possibilities that spark interest.
“Be curious and find something that you’re passionate about because that’s essentially what you want,” Crouch explains. “You don’t want to just do STEM to do STEM; you want to do STEM because it’s something you enjoy and that you find challenging.”
For more questions or concerns regarding future career panels, please stop by the College Career Center and see Guidance Counselor Tom Daugherty.
