High school students explore career options in summer workshops at Berkeley College

Soaring temperatures outside were topped only by the enthusiasm of nearly 100 students from more than 20 New Jersey high schools at Berkeley College’s Summer Workshops held at the Woodland Park, NJ campus.

“So many high school students are still unclear about their future paths,” said Melissa Couden, High School & Community Relations Associate at Berkeley College. “These summer workshops really give them a taste of what’s really involved in different career fields through presentations from leading area professionals. It’s a great way to get firsthand information from high-level sources to see if a career in that area might be for them.”

Pat Verile, High School & Community Relations Associate at Berkeley, added, “The workshops give high school students the opportunity to learn from people in the industry who are willing to give back and teach these students things such as passion, determination, and understanding—they speak to what the field is truly all about,” said  who led students through several of the workshops and presentations.” 

“The workshops were great, very informative for high school students with questions about pursuing a college education,” according to Godfrey Floy, a teacher from Newark’s School of Data Science who accompanied a group of students.

An action-packed, informative, and fun day

After check-in and a brief welcoming, students got right down to business. The day included workshops featuring discussions with high-profile professionals and hands-on activities in a range of areas, including Healthcare, Business, Criminal Justice and Legal Studies, Fashion, Graphic Design, and Interior Design. After lunch, students toured the campus facilities in small groups. The action-packed day concluded with students receiving certificates for their participation

Breaking into business

The Business workshop began with a panel discussion led by members of the Information Technology team at Atlantic Health Systems, one of the state’s leading healthcare providers, followed by a hands-on “Shark Tank” activity led by Berkeley Professor Michael Kipness from the Marketing faculty in the Larry L. Luing School of Business^®. Brent Simmons, Head of Partnership Marketing at the New York City Football Club (NYCFC) was up next before a “scavenger hunt” workshop on “Sustainability in Business,” led by Professor Demetria Foster. The final Business presentation of the day featured Berkeley College graduate Madison Frazier, owner of Madison Realty & Associates, who discussed her professional journey.

“Business is such a huge field filled with endless career opportunities. The Business Summer Workshop allowed students access to a variety of unique areas of business such as healthcare systems, New York City Soccer Club, and real estate,” noted Al Alston, High School Admissions Associate. “The students also were able to connect with Berkeley College professors for some fun and engaging business-related activities. Overall, I was happy to see how students stepped out of their comfort zones and utilized the power of networking to establish new connections.”

Insights into the in-demand healthcare field

The Healthcare workshops, the day’s most popular among the attendees, kicked off with two professionals from St. Michael’s Medical Center in Newark—Maria Ras, Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist, and Hamde Miqbel, Director of Patient Care Services. Berkeley College alum Renuka Rupee, a Patient Care Technician in the Emergency Department at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Wayne, shared her healthcare career journey which included her recent Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) graduation and her plans on possibly continuing her education toward a Master of Science in Nursing degree. Next, Dr. Manda Naleyanda and Dr. Shkelzen Badivuku led the students through three clinical rotations, where they learned to take vital signs and blood pressure, basic CPR skills, and had an EKG demonstration. 

Investigating the criminal justice, national security, and legal fields

Marilyn Bernardino-Redondo, Intelligence Research Specialist from the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) quickly captured the attention of the students as she spoke of the wide range of opportunities—including many unexpected ones—with federal government law enforcement agencies. Next, Professor Rick Olivieri, JD, from the Berkeley College Justice Studies - Criminal Justice program, discussed “Separating Fact from Fiction” in regard to movies, TV shows, and the law. Berkeley alum Lachanee Scott shared her journey from a young Jamaican immigrant to a college graduate and a working paralegal, who is currently in her last year of law school. In Berkeley College’s new Crime Scene Lab, Professors Laura Harste and Angelo Zecca held a hands-on Crime Scene Workshop, which was followed by a Jury Deliberation Workshop, led by Professors Olivieri and Charlane Brown, JD in a courtroom setup. Olivia Strama, a graduate of the Berkeley College Honors Program, told her progression from student to intern to her current position as a full-time officer with a New Jersey municipal police department.

Focusing on the future of the fashion business

Students interested in the exciting field of fashion began their day with Berkeley grad Jesenia Espinal, the Director of Product Development at Victoria’s Secret, followed by Professor Domanique Randazzo’s workshop on Fashion Brand Development: How to Elevate Your Brand. After lunch, students heard from Jasmine Stewart Brown, a Berkeley alum who is currently Associate Product Development Manager at Walmart before a hands-on workshop on Forecasting Fashion for the Future led by Professor Andrea Skillings from the Berkeley Fashion Merchandising and Management program. Professor Pamela Macklin provided a very informative overview of the fashion industry and the day concluded with a fun “Guess the Designer” activity led by Melissa Couden and current Berkeley Fashion Merchandising and Management student speaker Monserrat Miranda.

Graphic Design: Turning talent into a career

The Graphic Design Summer Workshops included informative presentations from leading design professionals Carolina Pena, Graphic Designer at JRM Construction Management and Wimper Briones, Marketing Director at Materials, Inc., both graduates of the Berkeley College Graphic Design programs, as well as Claire Swibinski, Creative Director at Vision Marketing Media. Two separate hands-on project workshops were conducted by Professor Julia Hutchinson, Chair of the Graphic Design program.

Insights into Interior Design

Students with an interest in designing residential and commercial environments paid close attention to Berkeley alum Danielle Ehrgott, the owner of BES Construction, and Broker Associate Kienlen Lattmann from Sotheby’s. In the Berkeley College Design Lab, Professor Alfonso Torino, Chair of the Interior Design program held a hands-on workshop where students got an introduction to the computer-aided design (CAD) software used by professional design firms. Through a Zoom presentation from Miami, Florida, Berkeley graduate and entrepreneur Leila Evloeva discussed the many exciting projects currently underway at her firm, Elite Design Manufacturing. Finally, the Interior Design group joined students from the Graphic Design workshop in the Candy Marketing Game led by Carol Covino.

Interest and enthusiasm from students

“I really enjoyed the panel discussion with Atlantic Health,” said Courtney from New Brunswick Health Sciences and Technology High School, who participated in the Business workshops. “ I had never really considered the journey people had taken to get where they are today. It allowed me to build more hope in myself.” 

Nailing from Bayonne High School was part of the Criminal Justice, Legal Studies, and National Security workshops. “It was really interesting. I learned a lot, not only from what they were showing us but also from the stories they told about real-life events.”

“Such an amazing opportunity for so many high school students to hear directly from industry leaders as well as Berkeley College Professors as they begin their college and career search” summed up Laurie McBrinn, Berkeley’s High School & Community Relations Coordinator. “There was so much excitement on campus!” 

Do your homework

Choosing a college is an important decision. Students are always welcome to visit Berkeley College, tour the facilities, meet with professors and advisors, and ask questions about the College’s career-focused degree and certificate programs and comprehensive support services and resources.

The views and/or opinions in this article are those of the individuals interviewed. The academic achievements and/or employment outcomes described in this article are specific to each individual and are not a guarantee of similar results for past or current students. For up-to-date and detailed information, please visit BerkeleyCollege.edu and view our catalogs at BerkeleyCollege.edu/publications.