This is the time of year for many students to start pondering their professional futures. It’s a time to start thinking about university applications, personal statements and the like, and so any good school will do their best to give students the leg up they might need.
Wednesday, 8 February, saw The British School of Nanjing (BSN) hold their first large-scale event aimed at stimulating student interest in possible, future-life paths; Career Day.
As highlight, BSN had lined up no less than 15 experts in their fields to be on campus in person to give presentations and answer student questions as to working in their particular profession. Students were able to choose two such sessions to attend during the day based on their perceived interests.
Before that, by means of a kind of ice breaker, some students were assigned the task of coming up with two occupations beginning with every letter of the alphabet; if you’re not a quartermaster, zookeeper or a xylophonist, it’s not as easy as it sounds!
Other BSN students worked on creating simple CVs and how best to react when being interviewed for a job.
Then it was on to sit down and listen to their chosen experts, with some potential doctors among the BSN student body opting for Dr. Antoine Grellet, the first Swiss national in possession of a Chinese medical license.
In a related field, Kevin, in Year 11, was among those attending the session with Christine Fang, Lead Physiotherapist at Guze International Clinic in Nanjing. Afterward, Kevin said, “Hands on learning with practical examples from a field expert was an eye opener”.
As to other professions, those with a media bent wanted to hear from Gu Minjie, Director of the famed dating show, “Fei Cheng Wu Rao” (非诚勿扰), on Jiangsu TV.
The more-scientifically minded, on the other hand, were intrigued with Prof. Zhang Zijian, Associate Professor at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, who has presided over a project for China’s “Tianwen 1” space probe.
Other students, those with their feet more on the ground and their eye on the purse strings, chose the session with Miro Kolesar, currently Executive Vice President with the Bank of Nanjing, who first came to China in 1992 and has worked some of the leading banks in Europe.
They were joined by others from professions including architecture, engineering, illustration, law, photography and technology.
During the presentations and following question-and-answer session, students were inquisitive as to what an average day holds in store for the visiting experts. Some were surprised, and perhaps not-so inspired, by their prospective career, when they found out it involves getting up at 5 in the morning!
Emilie, in Year 9, who attended the architecture session, was also surprised, saying, “I was relieved to hear it from an expert that I could still aspire to have a career in Architecture even though drawing is not my strongest skill”.
