Thanks to so many local professionals, seventh grade students at Bethel Middle School were able to enjoy round two of Career Day on January 29th.

Back in the fall, Career Day focused around the medical profession, whereas a couple of weeks ago, the presentations revolved around businesses and entrepreneurship.  Those who graciously gave of their time were, Diana Laursen, owner of Hazelwood Soap Company, Lori Chappell with Champion Credit Union, Katy Gould, Director, HCC Small Business Center, and Joe Sam Queen, architect and representative for the 119th district in the North Carolina House of Representatives.

Students were highly engaged in each session.  With Katy Gould, students worked with goal sheets to demonstrate the first steps that need to be taken in order to create your own business.  As a way to practice those steps, students were given spaghetti noodles and marshmallows or smarties and asked to use their smart goals to help them in assembling a structure.   In Diana Laursen’s session, students were able to touch, smell, hear, and see the chemistry that goes into making soaps and lotions and hear her story about the journey and challenges to owning your own company.  As students moved to Joe Sam Queen’s room, they were able to see the architectural blueprints, photographs, 3D models, and many other plans that went into building the HART Theater in Waynesville.  Lori Chappell’s presentation emphasized the soft skills that are needed in banking or any marketing position; she stressed the importance of good communication skills, being open-minded and goal oriented, and being self-determined in order to be successful in any career.

BMS is so appreciative to these professionals who so willingly gave of their time and resources to come and challenge the future leaders of our community to think big and know that anything is possible!

Submitted by:  Emily Fama, Bethel Middle School