The Career Connect Club has been gaining attention around Cal High for introducing students to future careers by inviting guest speakers to campus.
Whether it’s about technology, business, arts, or healthcare, Career Connect helps expose students to possible careers that could be the best fit for them.
This club was founded in 2024 by Abbey Arteaga, who is now a senior.
“I started this club to help influence students, my friends, and peers, to encourage them in what major they want to explore,” Arteaga said.
The Career Connect Club meets in FA 202 at least once a month, but it often depends on when they can schedule guest speakers.
Each meeting consists of a speaker who talks about experiences with their jobs and the journey it took to get there.
The speaker appearances not only include discussions about their jobs and the workplace atmosphere, but also about what led them to it and how they got hired.
“There was a biologist that came in and explained all sorts of fields and different parts of marine biology,” senior Davion Gray said. “There were also a few nurses that came in that went in depth of their job and what it’s like.”
These appearances give students a better idea of what they want to do in the future and what they can expect from certain careers. Some guest speakers have also run interactive demonstrations to engage students.
“There was a technician that came in once and he was running a medical device and he showed us what their job was like,” senior club treasurer Sonora Bouey said. “He gave some good examples.”
Club social media managers create Instagram posts to promote each meeting, including who will be speaking and the date and time of the meeting.But there have been some challenges with this club.
“One of the biggest challenges is trying to get consistent guest speakers every month because a lot of them have very busy schedules,” senior club secretary Hannah Ly said.
The club’s adviser, ceramics and photo teacher Angelique MacIntosh, helps support the club by hosting the meetings in her classroom, FA 202.
“I wanted to help students and manage their stress with this club as a way to help them with countless career ideas,” MacIntosh said.
The club provides students with a chance not only to learn about jobs that they might’ve never heard about, but also to connect with new people.
“I wanted more exposure to real people who actually work in the careers I’m interested in,” senior Naomi Parsons said. “You can read about jobs on paper, but it’s different meeting someone actually doing the work.”
