Algonquin’s first Lunch & Learn will expose students to various careers in the arts through presentations and discussions on April 12.

Career Exploration and Innovation Leader Michelle Kaelin continues to experiment with opportunities for students to learn more about the options available in their future, starting with the Lunch & Learn: Careers in the Arts. This will take place in the faculty lounge, adjacent to the cafeteria, during all three lunch periods, and is available to students in any grade. 

“I wanted to bring more speakers into school so that students can hear their options and how folks got into those fields, what they studied, what they like, what they don’t like,” Kaelin said.

The Lunch & Learn will feature three local guest speakers in the arts career field, including a graphic designer, a freelance textile designer and a media coordinator for Northborough Cable Access.

“Each of our guests will kind of have their own table and students can come sit with whoever they want to learn from,” Kaelin said. “It will be sort of informal and casual, but I want each of our guests to talk about what they do…how they got into the field, what their education background was, where they went to school, what they studied.”

Kaelin emphasizes exposing students to the variety of paths that can lead to careers, and how it is okay to be unsure.

“I think hearing from adult professionals who are doing really interesting things and how they got there can be encouraging and reassuring in some cases,” Kaelin said. “You can hear about folks who are maybe doing something unrelated to what they majored in, or hearing about the different jobs that they had out of school and what they’ve done on their career journey.”

Kaelin has put together this first Lunch & Learn in hopes of providing students with an accessible and easy way to learn more about careers in the arts.

“It’s really, fundamentally about exposure and awareness and education,” Kaelin said. “Just educating students on what their options are.”

Kaelin is also looking forward to hosting a Lunch & Learn for careers in finance in May, as well as a similar after-school event for careers in engineering.