Castaic students choosing their lives

I got the opportunity to meet these awesome coyotes in places like the yearbook room, choir room, and even at a game. I also learned more about the amazing things they aspire to be. We discussed what the future holds for each of them, including their post-high school studies, future careers, and expectations in those fields. They shared fun facts and talked about how eager they are to start pursuing these careers. I am excited to introduce you to future nurse, Kelsey Conroy, future soldier in the Marines or Army, Roco Rodriquez, a musician in the Marines, Liam Lafferty, and lastly future physical therapist, Claudia Martinez.

1. Kelsey Conroy
Meet Kelsey Conroy, a freshman who wants to work in the medical field and become a nurse. I asked her a few questions about what she wants to see in her future and what she envisions for her job. I know that many people struggle with big questions about careers, like “What do you wanna be when you grow up?” and “What career path fits right for me?” Sometimes, they even struggle with the challenges that come with wanting to be in certain jobs, like the emotional and physical challenges. First, I asked her what she wanted to do after high school, and this was her response: “I want to study med school for four to eight years.”, then after that I asked her what challenges people might face in this job industry, where she said, “Not knowing what they’re doing and not ruining someone’s life.” About 4,000 students were at a two-day career fair, with all of them open to doing great things for the future (CBS News). Thousands of young students went to the concourse to ask many questions to hundreds of employees (CBS News).

2. Roco Rodriquez
Next, meet Roco Rodriquez, who is a sophomore at Castaic High School. He was telling me all about the job he was looking for and what he wanted to do, then he told me he wanted to be in the Military. I asked him a few questions about the military, and I asked if someone inspired him to wanna do this job, and why he wanted to do it. People nowadays usually go for a “hot job,” a job that is high-paying and is in high demand, which doesn’t usually fit that person’s design. Some usually have a reason why they wanna go into that field, if it was a family member who worked there or something along those lines. So when I asked Roco what he wanted to do after school, and he said, “I want to either join the Marines or the army”, I also asked him if someone inspired him to wanna be in this job or if he thought of it himself which he replied, “My grandpa inspired me, I knew him as a pretty cool guy, he died from lung cancer.”. Two-thirds of military teens say that they plan to serve in the future. Findings show that about 65% of teens who wanna serve in the military are in stark contrast to a 2019 Defense Department poll (Military Times).

3. Liam Lafferty
Then, let’s meet Liam Lafferty, a senior who wants to work in the military, also, but he wants to do something a bit different; he wants to do music for the Marines. I questioned him about career success and how he sees that in his job industry. Many people working that career success is an accomplishment when it really doesn’t equate to career success, though career success is like finding a job you love and finding inner peace and joy for. So, I asked him what he thought career success would be. He said this, “It’s enjoying your career and like really being fulfilled by what you’re doing has like a purpose.” I asked him how he realized that this job was something he wanted to do. He replied, “[I realized I wanted this job] like, freshman year, I was immediately, like that’s a good enough option for me, and I didn’t really enjoy school. So the marines part helped because I can kind of just do that and then gives me a lot of good experience without actually just having to straight up go to college for four years”. A career is based on your interests and understanding of your career goals. And if you’re happy and fulfilled with your job and can afford necessities, then you’re successful (Forbes).

4. Claudia Martinez
Finally, meet Claudia Martinez, a senior who wants to go to a 4-year college and become a physical therapist, as she said she has always had a thing for helping others. She was asked if someone inspired her to want to do the job she wants to do, and also asked what career success looked like for her. Parents always encourage their kids to think big and stay positive. They also give their kids many options depending on what they like to do and what kids don’t like to do. I asked Claudia if someone inspired her, if she wanted to do this job, to which she replied, “I realized it last year in my body systems class actually because my teacher, Mrs. Yates, was a physical therapist and so she really sparked my interest in it knowing how I wanna be more of a physical person and help others a lot.” I also asked her what she thought career success looked like, and she answered with, “Being able to be happy with what I do, and being able to enjoy what I do as well.” Career success is a combination of financial stability and finding enjoyment in your life and career choices. The people who experience meaningful career success realize that job titles aren’t the whole of it. True career success is the alignment of the lack of joy and interest in your chosen job (Forbes).

After all of this, we see what career success really looks like for these students, and we also see the brilliant minds and creative activities that are to come to these students. This helps us get to know students better and see what they’re all going to study and become.