During the week of Oct. 16 – Oct. 20, Millikan hosted our annual College and Career Week. Like past years, this event consisted of a pull-up bar challenge from the Marines, professionals to talk to, and booths in the quad, but this year we also had the opportunity to go to the auditorium to hear from different professionals and their careers.
Here’s how the week looked. On Day One, the College and Career Center hosted a workshop on “How To Network” at lunch. This focused on how to professionally present yourself.
Day Two featured Chapman University helping students with their college applications in the College and Career Center
Days Three and Four held panel discussions about career journeys.
The panel discussion in the auditorium hosted different women in the workforce, such as Laura Higgins, a psychotherapist, Andrea Garcia, a QUEST alumni of 2014, and a data analyst, and Heather Lee, part of the Long Beach utilities department.
There were four sessions of panels. They were on Wednesday and Thursday during periods 2, 4, 1, and 3. One of the panels felt very lowkey and under the radar, like most students weren’t aware of it. As it got closer to starting, more classes started to sit down and filled almost all of the middle section of the auditorium. Couches and chairs were on stage and a projector showed different college programs on the screen at the beginning of the discussion.
The presenters shared the many struggles and obstacles they had to overcome with their career paths and even gave advice to the students on what to expect once they get their first job. Before closing the panel, the students had a chance to ask the presenters any questions. There were four sessions of panels. They were on Wednesday and Thursday during periods 2, 4, 1, and 3.
Also on Days 3 and 4 were the College and Career Fairs at lunch in the quad.
10th grade Modern World History teacher, Mrs. Alexander ran this event along with Ms. Sanchez, Millikan’s Pathway Coordinator. Alexander said, “My goal was to get as many colleges and careers on campus so kids can get exposed and get as many teachers as I can to share their experiences. “I wanted students to learn what opportunities are out there and know there isn’t the same path for everybody, you have to find what makes you happy,” she finished.
There were several booths set up on the quad. One of the most popular booths was the Marines, tons of students participated, and many students were seen asking for information about their careers and colleges they wanted to go to. Other booths like the Long Beach Junior Lifeguards, Long Beach Utilities, and the Los Angeles County Office of Education. These booths had all kinds of different accessories given to students like sunglasses and string bags.
On Day Five, there was college trivia held in the center at lunch.
Overall this was another successful event held by Millikan’s College and Career Center!
Andrea Mercado • Dec 5, 2023 at 9:42 am
This article highlights the events that took place during the College and Career Week at Millikan High School. I really liked how Tokudomi gave a description of what was going on each day and the events taking place. Especially on the events that were a little bigger. Tokudomi made sure to include descriptive details of it and the people who helped make this college and career week possible and memorable.
On day three, I was surprised to hear that my class was going to the auditorium for an assembly that was going to take place. I had no idea what the assembly was going to be about when I first got there. As the lights dimmed and the three ladies took their seats on the couches, the room went silent. As the assembly proceeded I got to learn about the struggles these three ladies went through during their high school and college life and what they go through in their jobs. As a junior, being able to hear what they went through as students themselves helped. It made me understand that they too were us and faced the fear and concerns that we do about our future. Being able to hear different stories and career pathways was helpful to not just me but to hundreds of other students. Overall Tokudomi did a wonderful job at structuring these events.
Olivia Hanniff • Nov 30, 2023 at 1:12 pm
Tokudomi’s article elaborates on the various activities held at Millikan High
School for the College and Career Week. I appreciate how Tokudomi separates the activities on the different days with headings such as “Day 1” and “Day 2”. This allows the reader to easily follow along, almost seeming like they have lived through the week if they weren’t there. I also like how the writer added in a quote of a teacher at Millikan to get a different perspective on the events, rather than just the students. At the end of the article, Tokudomi states that “Overall this was another successful event held by Millikan’s College and Career Center!” I wish that Tokudomi would have added other facts or statistics on how the previous ones weren’t as successful, or where more successful and why. Similarly, on Day 3 and 4 there was the College and Career Fair, which included a variety of schools and universities. I suggest adding some examples, or ones that are very popular within the students.
Simone Jackson • Nov 30, 2023 at 9:51 am
This article briefly dives into the week of October 16 October 20 to describe the College and Career Week held on campus at Millikan. Tokudomi explains how the week consisted of various booths and guest speakers who came to provide knowledge of varying opportunities for the future. Tokudomi elaborates on the insight that the College and Career Week festivities and events provided by specifically describing the various organizations and individuals who participated. Tokudomi walks readers through the week of events stating for Day One there was a workshop held on “How to Network” at lunch in the College and Career Center. Day Two representatives from Chapman University came to Millikan to aid students improve and craft their college applications from the valuable perspective of someone knowledgeable on college admission preferences. Day Three and Four consisted of panel discussions about career journeys held during lunch in the quad. These panels hosted four women of varying industries who provided insight into the struggles they have faced over the years in their careers and advised students on what their first job experience may include. These days also included a fair of several booths with representatives from several diversified organizations like the Long Beach Junior Lifeguards, Long Beach Utilities, and the United States Marines. Day Five consisted of college trivia games that were hosted by the College and Career Center during lunch. This article is a great resource for both upperclassmen and lowerclassmen alike who seek guidance on possibilities for their future education and careers. Tokudomi does an excellent and thorough job explaining how this tradition is annual and provides specificity on how it is structured day by day to equip students with better knowledge as to what event might appeal to them.
Savannah Martinez • Nov 29, 2023 at 12:58 pm
This article illustrates the week of October. 16 – October. 20, where Millikan hosted our annual College and Career Week. Tokudomi talked about the festivities that took place over the five days that gave the students very useful information regarding the questions of college and our future careers. Tokudomi uses specific examples to illustrate all the helpful information being given that week like the alumni conversations that were taken place, the pull-up bars that were a big hit among all the athletes, the booths that were all along the quad which students got to visit and ask questions, and the college trivia being held in the college and career center in chronological order by the days of the week.
This article contains many interviews with teachers and the administrators that were involved in this campus event, Tokudomi does not include student interviews. I suggest that Tokudomi includes student interviews because I feel knowing the student perspective will give an honest opinion on how this week is most helpful towards them. This way, students will connect with the student interviewee.
The question that I have is; why is only Chapman University holding a panel for students and not more universities? Although Tokudomi cannot directly answer this question, I think asking the person in charge of the event, can ask this question.
All in all, Tokudomi does a great job in describing College and Career Week.
Kennedy Smith • Nov 29, 2023 at 11:04 am
This article highlights the event held at Millikan high school on days October 16-20 called, College and Career week. This event allows for students to start their journey of getting ready for their future. Tokudomi clearly explains the activities held on each day and the success of each one. I believe that this event is a huge advantage for Millikan students and was an educational but also fun activity for participants.
Tokudomi presented the events that took place on each day, starting with day one which was a workshop called, “How to Network.” He explains that this day was all about learning how to present yourself in the most professional way. Day two was a day for students to get help from Chapman University with their college applications. Day three and four held times for students to have discussions about their future careers and how to get started. Lastly, day five was a fun activity of college trivia.
College and Career Week seems to be a huge success at Millikan and a great opportunity for kids to get a head start on thinking about their future choices. Tokudomi explains that these activities opened the eyes of students and got them thinking about all of the different paths they can take. Presenters got to motivate students but also make them aware of real life problems that will happen in the future. This event has taken place for the last few years at Millikan and there are hopes it will continue!