Braden Bochner, cub writer
Excitement fills the halls of Beverly as the ROP Dept. gears up for this year’s Career Day, set for April 17, 2013.
Career Day is organized by advisors from the Los Angeles Regional Occupational Program (ROP). Each year, students are exposed to a variety of professional fields including Broadcast Journalism, CSI/Forensics, International Business, Nutrition, Talent Management, and more. Over 150 speakers will arrive on campus to address students in presentations followed by Q&A forums.
“We like to try to get new speakers with fresh insight each year, however we do bring back past favorites,” ROP Counselor Megen Anspach said.
The school’s ROP Dept. invites members of the community to come speak to the students about their respective careers. The speakers can range from doctors and lawyers to small business entrepreneurs.
“We have a large pool of people to choose from. We pull from local businesses and the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce,” Anspach said.
ROP Dept. Head Steve Rappaport stated that he is constantly looking for interesting people who will share their message with students. Rappaport believes that the most rewarding aspect of career day is watching the communication unfold between the guest speakers and the students.
“It’s fascinating to interact with people who have pursued different career paths and see how they inspire our students,” Rappaport reflected.
Students participate in planning of Career Day
Although Career Day may only last for several hours, the preparation is a yearlong process that involves months of research and outreach by an expert team of counselors and student aides.
“Mr. Rappaport and Mr. Hayne have been doing this for years. They made it much easier for me to help and it’s been wonderful collaborating with them,” Anspach said.
Career Day this year is designed to be more student driven. The students’ active participation in planning the event includes being involved in all aspects, especially marketing and promoting the day to fellow students.
“Learning to market an event will help our student aides in their own careers,” Anspach commented.
Students experience the complexities of producing an event of this nature, one with many “moving pieces,” according to Anspach. Being involved in this way has proven to be beneficial for many of the student aides.
“Interactions between students and speakers on Career Day have resulted in internships in past years, and it’s important that they learn how to make these connections,” Anspach observed.
Organizers of the 2013 Career Day look forward to delivering a successful event. They aim to reach their goal of helping students discover the career they want and how to carry out that career.
“We hope that our students will explore different careers and learn what it takes to be successful,” Anspach said.
Students can click here to sign up for Career Day.  Sign-ups will close at 5 p.m. on Friday, March 8!