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the Homer Horizon | May 24, 2018 | 11
Ludwig School students explore variety of jobs during Career Day
Jacquelyn Schlabach
Assistant Editor
“What do you want to be
when you grow up?” is a
common question children
are asked.
Children have such a big
imagination, that for them,
there’s no limit as to what
they can be. On May 11,
fourth- and fifth-graders at
Ludwig School got to learn
about 14 different careers
that they could one day pursue.
Parents of students,
friends of teachers and those
just passionate about sharing
what they do for a living,
filled the classrooms at
Ludwig, as students traveled
from room to room to hear
the presenters.
“I like how everybody
explains their jobs and how
diverse everybody’s job is,
so we can learn more about
them,” fifth-grader Logan
Kairis said.
Kairis’ class had just
finished listening to Pam
Santucci, a volunteer at
Brookfield Zoo and retired
fifth-grade teacher at Ludwig.
“I hope they want to come
to the zoo to see the animals,
learn about the animals and
hopefully do something to
help the animals or their environment,”
Santucci said.
She brought camel fur, a
turtle shell, a white-tailed
deer antler and other artifacts
to share with the students,
and she shared the interesting
things her job allows her
to see and do.
Across the hallway, Phil
Blazewski spoke to students
about his love for being a
commercial pilot. He flies
for SkyWest Airlines and
has been a pilot for about 16
years.
“I just would like to spread
the word about aviation and
what a great field it is, what a
great career it is,” Blazewski
said. “I really love my job,
so I want everybody to know
how much I love it, so that
way, if they express interest
in it, they would pursue it, as
well.”
It was his first time presenting
for Career Day, and
he discussed the training he
has to go through, where he
flies — and how often — as
well as the average salary of
a pilot.
“I hope it incites their
imagination,” he said. “I
hope they like to look at the
sky and think, ‘Hey, that
could be me someday.’ Because
that’s what I did when
I was a kid and know that actually
they can do that.”
Fifth-grader Mia Di-
Giovanni said she enjoys
learning about all the different
kinds of jobs that she
might not have even thought
of.
“I like how we can see
different jobs and not just
common jobs, like out-ofthe-box
jobs, what normal
people wouldn’t do,” Di-
Giovanni said.
Ludwig has organized
Career Day for the last 18
years, and principal Lisa
Lyke said that with Common
Core implemented in
schools, the curriculum is
career and college readiness
focused, which helps students
be exposed to various
subjects that can lead to a
career choice.
“I hope [the students]
have an opportunity to learn
about careers they didn’t
even know existed, or just
careers they never really
thought about, and hopefully
learn a little bit more about
it,” Lyke said.
Other presenters included
an actor, banker, engineer,
police officer, firefighter,
meteorologist, FBI agent
and more.
“I think it’s cool how firefighters
save lives,” fourthgrader
Eden Leise said.
Leise and her fourth-grade
peers had the opportunity
Students (left to right) Alex Brown, Jack Swedo, Paul Kotsonis and Broofield Zoo volunteer Pam Santucci look at the
different animal artifacts she brought in to show the students May 11 for Career Day. Photos by Jacquelyn Schlabach/22nd
Century Media
Meteorologist Richard Castro shares with fifth-graders how
clouds and rain form.
to see a fire truck in the
school parking lot as Lockport
Township Fire Protection
District firefighter Rob
Cronholm taught them about
each aspect of the truck.
“I love educating young
children about various
jobs that are out there, and
they’re very inquisitive, and
just giving them the opportunity
to ask questions and
answer them, and just letting
them know what jobs are really
like,” FBI agent Andrea
Kropf said.
The favorite part of her
job, just like Lockport Police
Lockport Township Fire Protection District firefighter Rob
Cronholm shares with Eboni Haywood’s fourth-grade class
about every aspect of the fire truck and what it is used for.
Department police officer
Jeren Szmergalski, is that
every day is different.
“There’s always kind of a
revolving door where there’s
always different jobs or responsibilities
that you can
take on as a police officer,
and it’s not the same thing
every day,” Szmergalski said.
Her goal for speaking to
the fourth-graders is to instill
in them that police are nothing
to fear, and they are there
to help protect the children
and everyone around them.