By Justin Caccavo ’20

In the midst of the stressful issues of college-application preparation, which comes along with junior year, Monday, May 6th at Junior Career Night, Chaminade students were given a preview of just some of the infinite number of career options available to them. Career night is a great testament to the power of Chaminade alumni network from which a large number of graduates return to help current juniors develop a better idea of what the eleventh graders may or may not want to do with their lives.

On Monday evening, students had the opportunity to listen to talks by lawyers, engineers, doctors, accountants, businessmen, and many others. In these twenty-minute sessions, speakers gave a brief overview of what their jobs entail, explained the different attributes of their industries, and offered personal anecdotes about their experiences in their particular fields. Students had the chance to listen to four of these presentations. They were also able to converse with alumni in a more personal setting in the Variety of Events Section in the AAC. Spreading across the entire basketball court, the Section allowed juniors to meet with graduates in careers ranging from aviation to architecture to hotel management. “Career night gave me a deeper understanding of the direction in which I will be moving in the future. Having professionals talk about their jobs candidly has helped me tremendously,” said Matthew Coletti ’20.

Since Career Night started at 7:00 PM, students had the option of going home after school or staying on campus until the event began. Regardless, all juniors were ready to enter the Activity-Athletic Center to introduce themselves to the alumni and ask questions. Dom Eilbacher ’20 was thankful for the opportunity to learn more about a particular field. “I’m really glad I got the opportunity to attend Career Night, particularly because I was able to introduce myself to a successful Chaminade graduate who works in private equity.  I was able to learn about his specific job and even discuss a possible internship with his company.” With business cards at the ready, several Chaminade alumni offered their contact information to the students, allowing students to follow up with the alumni should the current juniors have more questions and ideally foster a connection that they can utilize after graduation.

Learning about these different professions made many Chaminade students feel less like high-school students and more like prospective job seekers. “Career night was a great opportunity to breach the surface of the work world and adulthood. The night highlighted the many possible professions that a Chaminade Man can pursue once he enters the work world, and also helped answer many questions I had about certain professions,” said Luca Iacono ’20. The night fostered an air of professionalism from which our students benefited.

Junior Career Night was one of many events organized by Chaminade designed to ensure that its students enter the workforce well informed. Chaminade’s gratitude goes to the many successful alumni, all willing to come back to their alma mater to help the next generation of Chaminade men. Nearly all students would agree that talking with various graduates who have taken different paths in life was very beneficial. Matthew Young ’20 sums up the night saying, “It was interesting to hear what different alumni did for a living. It really offered some perspective about their respective fields and showed the wide variety of jobs one can pursue.” Career Night was a memorable experience for the juniors–a shared experience that links Chaminade men across generations.