Daniela Bickel, in addition to her work as a counselor for CHS students, is also responsible for the approaching annual Career Day, where students attend presentations by professionals in fields they’re interested in. The event has grown in popularity among students, but less attention is focused on all the work that goes into preparing for such a widely-anticipated day.
Bickel expressed how “awesome” it is to put on Career Day for CHS students. However, given how big of an operation this is, it does not come without its unique challenges.
“I’m mostly in charge of getting all the presenters lined up, communicating with them, which is hard to do, because there’s so many,” Bickel said.
Even after putting on Career Day for a few years, challenges can come out of the blue, and the staff have to adapt as best they can. In 2022, for example, two of the planned presenters didn’t show up.
“This year, I changed it so that I’m sending even more reminders to people,” Bickel said, quickly addressing the setback. “So then we learn, you know, we’re not going to contact that person to come this year.”
Thankfully, Bickel isn’t alone in this endeavor. Volunteers and help from other CHS staff are an integral part of organizing any event, and Chelsea community members have shown time and time again that they’re willing to step up.
“Andrea Franco assists with logistics related to rooms because all the rooms have to be assigned to a presenter, and then Shelly Weber assists with Google Forms,” Bickel said. “We had a lot of parents reaching out saying, I would really love to present, so I contacted all those folks this year.”
Some school functions can feel boring or unnecessary, but because of the way Bickel lets students have a voice in what they learn, Career Day seems to be more enjoyable—and more impactful—than most.
“We have students who attend a career talk who want to learn about what the presenters do,” Bickel said. “And they come out of that talk inspired and they’re like, this is what I want to do. And I think that is the coolest thing.”
