Alumni Offer Stories and Reveal Passions at Career Day

Nearly 50 alumni presenters from across decades and industries returned to campus to lend their knowledge and advice to Parker’s Upper School. The Alumni Association Mentorship Committee, in partnership with the Alumni Office and Upper School, worked tirelessly to bring together a group of dedicated, successful professionals to speak on a number of panels available to Upper School students.

Each year, students take a break from regular classes so these presenters can inspire them to follow their passions, encourage them to ask questions and assure them that their Parker experience will set them on a path to greater things after graduation. This year, the panels included Advertising, Business, Education, Engineering/Science/Tech, Entertainment, Entrepreneurship/Startup, Financial Services, Healthcare, Interior Design, Law, Marketing, Nonprofits, Public Affairs/Politics/Government Services, Public Relations and Real Estate.

After a double round of panels, students headed to the Heller Auditorium to hear from Alumni Keynote Speaker Stefan Holt ’05. An award-winning journalist with NBC Chicago, Holt explained how the role of a TV news anchor has changed throughout the years as more and more people get their news online and not through newspapers or news programs. This development has led him to become an expert in many areas, from having to do his own makeup to mastering social media. Holt showed what a “day in the life” is like through a video he created and edited. Next, Holt discussed his career path, touching on topics from school to how a chance proximal location to a fire gave him his start as a news stringer to landing at NBC Chicago.

Parker is thankful for everyone who took time from their busy lives to spend a morning sharing their expertise with Upper School students. As the school’s mission states, Parker treasures the way alumni come to know one another through their work and studies, empowering each individual and the community with hope and possibility. The connections and insights from Career Day will help propel current students to follow in alumni’s footsteps as they figure out their passions in the future.

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Click here for Panelist Bios.