Photo by Lester Smith
Andy Brydges, an environmental geologist, explains a matter concerning energy efficiency at a session during Career Day at the Suffield Middle School on April 20. His diverse, interesting career enables him to explain a wide range of occupational activities.
Every year Suffield Middle School gives its eighth-grade students the opportunity to hear about a wide variety of careers. Typically, the invited speakers are Suffield residents, many of them volunteered by their children or nieces and nephews. Students can select from a list of what careers are being described and attend several sessions during the day.
On April 20 this year, 22 people were scheduled to speak, representing careers from certified public accountant to several kinds of engineer to financial executive and more. Many careers were in the health or medical fields, others were military, several were town offices.
One was the school resource officer, Tom Kieselback, who could speak of the police officer career in general. Adrienne Drinkwater was listed as a free-lance medical writer. One intriguing entry on the schedule read “Actuary super hero;” that was Becky Sielman. Andy Brydges was described as an environmental geologist, but his discussions ranged among a number of specialties; he works now for Eversource, addressing energy efficiency.
In these days of rapidly changing technology and social conditions, Career Day may encourage students to appreciate the importance of getting the most out of their educational opportunity.