Career interests pursued for a day

Lawrence Woodmere Academy juniors and seniors were provided the opportunity to work closely for a day with alumni mentors from a chosen career field of interest during the Woodmere-based school’s third annual externship.
The program was created out of the ongoing mission of LWA to provide students with an ever-greater preparation for college and for life, according to Robbie Brenner, the director of development and alumni relations and a 2003 graduate of the school. “We view our 101-year history and our thousands of accomplished graduates as a great resource for current students and families,” he said. “We constantly seek to involve them in our work of providing a rich, dynamic educational experience to our students.”
For inclusion in the program, the students and their mentors are each given a questionnaire to complete. The students with the strongest applications and good academic standing are selected for an externship and matched up with a mentor and career placement, based on choices indicated on the student application. Six career categories available: business, technology/online, fashion/design, law, medicine and finance.
Five students took part in the first year, that number doubled last year and there were eight this year, said Megan Caputo, the assistant director of development and alumni relations. “This year, we were supposed to have even more participants, but we are hosting the program later in the year,” she said. “Many of our students that would participate are graduating or already have other plans.”
Google, OppenheimerFunds, fashion designer Zara Terez and Englewood Hospital, were among the businesses and institutions that hosted students.

Junior Paul Kowalewski, of Atlantic Beach, spent a day at Google in Manhattan. “It was eye-opening,” Kowalewski said. “It was also a relaxed attitude around the office. Everyone had fun while they worked. I got to help in working on the computers with coding. It was interesting, listening to lots of people talking about their assignments using a lot of jargon.”
LWA alum Noam Wolf, Kowalewski’s Google host, thinks the experience is invaluable. “I think that any student who wants to see a day in the life of a professional should do this externship program,” he said. “It might be a premature for many but those who are already thinking about careers should get that exposure. I sure wish I did.”
Senior Lamont Chapman Jr. will be at OppenheimerFunds on June 18. Chapman, a Valley Stream resident, said that he will major in business and minor in accounting at St. Francis College in Brooklyn. “I envision being able to sit in on conference calls with my mentor during my externship, and for him to tell me more about the business,” he said. “I’d like to pursue a career in sports management. I wanted this externship to see what the business world feels like. If you already know what you want to do in the future, do an externship to know that what you want to pursue is worth your time.”
Melissa Docteur spent her day at Englewood Hospital in Englewood, New Jersey. The junior from Valley Stream said that she wants to focus her attention on becoming a physician’s assistant. “Twelve years plus a residency is a long time for me, but a P.A. program is more like what I would like to do,” she said. “I saw how very natural it was for my mentor to do what he does. It was very exciting to see the hospital working.”