Navigating through Hewlett’s Career Day

You are a 61-year-old newly named deputy editor for Herald Community Newspapers who also serves as a senior editor mentoring less experienced colleagues and the editor of the Nassau Herald, a community weekly newspaper that covers the Five Towns.

Asked to speak at Hewlett High School’s Career Day on March 17, you think how you are going to retain the attention of several teenagers through a presentation that is expected to last upwards of 15 minutes covering, your career, the skills you learned in school that are the helpful in your career, the skills you wished you learned in school, your college experience and college and career recommendations.

It does not sound like a lot of time, but try speaking on a topic for 15 minutes and see how easy it is. Remember public speaking classes in high school or college, remember sweating the assignments as they lengthened during the class or course?

One of my tricks is to bring a few newspapers with me and hand them out. As the students glance through a hard copy newspaper – hopefully getting newsprint on their hands and a feel for journalism – I begin my spiel.

Speaking to three different classes of varying sizes, I got to vary my talk. In one of the class a student writes for the Spectrum, the high school newspaper. This makes it a bit easier. I should have the interest of at least one person.

In my second classroom, once again following Mollie Falk, Hewlett High class of 2014. The speakers were a varied bunch from three former Hewlett students to a couple of Board of Education trustees and local businesspeople.

I changed my pitch to address a class of roughly 30 students and at least two class clowns. Having been one of the reigning class clowns at P.S. 8 and Junior High School 80 in the Bronx, handling them is easy, You indulge a little and then remain on message as politicians would say.

The third class was much smaller because the sophomores attended an assembly with James “Murr” Murray, of the “Impractical Jokers.” Having met and seen Murray in action the day before I did not feel slighted. A more personal touch was called for when to speaking four students, especially ones not headed to journalism.

The primary reason for Career Day is reinforcement of advice students might have heard from their parents or teachers, but hearing from people outside that sphere might help it sink in said Hewlett’s Business Education 1hairman Bob Machado, who also serves as the advisor to the school’s Business Advisory Board and Senior Project coordinator.

“For me the most important thing is, we can sit here as teachers and even as parents and tell our children this is what you need to do, this is what you need to do, this is what you need to, but they don’t listen, lots of times, but someone else comes and says the same exact thing they tend to listen more,” Machado said.

I was told my presentations were “engaging and informative.” So, if your are a Hewlett High School student you just might see me on Interview Day, April 6.