OIS Career Exploration

High school students got the opportunity to interact with professionals from our community in our inaugural Career Exploration event on December 12, 2016. Seven presenters representing a wide range of occupations, gave talks about what they do and how they got there. The students then had the opportunity to ask questions.

The big takeaway for me was the importance of developing a network of people that can help you. Whether is be knocking on doors in US Congress to find a job, to moving between companies, having the courage to reach out and meet potential mentors or partners is crucial for success in the global economy. Everett Shiina, in sales and marketing for Google, mentioned that our students have a big advantage with a bilingual education and one that foments creativity and critical thinking. Art Tsubaki, CEO of Ipsen, challenged the students to start networking now, and reaching out to the parents of their classmates and develop their Linked In profiles as much as their Facebook profile. Kozo Kimura of I Ware Scanning, has a small company here in Minoh that now works with shoe companies all over the world, from Asics to Nike. He and his team developed the best foot scanning software and equipment. His database of close to 1 million human feet is such an incredible resource. Another takeaway was the frequency people move positions. The days of “lifetime” employment are over and successful people look to move to new challenges many times in their careers.

I would like to the parents and friends who met with the students. I believe that schools should have close relationship with business and professionals. It helps them make better decisions for their own path, as if they don’t choose it, their path will get chosen for them.