Students at St. Ignatius High School started the conversation about their futures last week during the annual spring Career Day, held at the high school.

Organized by the school’s Career Director and Family and Consumer Science Teacher, Terry Cable and her colleagues, teamwork by staff translated to the students, who also spent the day working together through creative thinking and problem solving.

Presentations were done at morning sessions of the career day, on Thursday, April 12, in various classrooms through the school for freshmen, sophomores and juniors.

Professionals from multiple fields were on-hand to talk with students, including the health care industry, film and airlines.

Seniors visited colleges, talking with financial aide personnel and observing classes through the day, Cable said.

Back at St. Ignatius High School, students listened to how their futures are already changing, and jobs and careers they’ll obtain in adulthood may not even be invented yet, Cable explained.

Another focal point of the day was that employers aren’t looking toward specific job or career descriptions these days, but rather how well employees work together and how they approach problem-solving.

Later in the day, students were assigned to groups with peers outside their usual social groups, working to overcome obstacles while communicating with each other and thinking outside the box.

“From that, they have to learn to be creative,” Cable said.

During one workshop, which included a group of students working on a water filtration system, a student who Cable described as usually quiet jumped in and led the group, applying his personal knowledge to the activity.

“It gave him an opportunity to be a leader” when he is typically the opposite and behind-the-scenes, Cable said.

Two career days, one in the fall and another in the spring, are possible because of the staff’s teamwork.

Cable remarked that everyone jumps in to help one another, which communicates parts of the program to students.

Each year, staff mold the career days specifically to the students.

This year, students were “so engaged” with hands-on activities, which is something new for the program, Cable said.

The intimidating “theme” of the day, bridging the transition from high school to the real world, didn’t stop students from being enjoying the activities planned out for them.

“They were competitive but they were trying very hard,” she said.