English Students Develop Research Skills While Exploring Future Career Options

At the onset of distance learning, Mrs. Chapman was determined to help her 10th grade English students develop a vital life skill - research. In order to do so, she gave students the opportunity to pick a topic of their choice. Students were tasked with exploring a career they were interested in.

Over the course of several weeks, students discovered their personal attributes and possible careers that would suit them. They looked into the college majors and degrees necessary to attain the career. Students were required to interview a person who works or has worked in their field of interest. The project culminated in a multi-page research paper and presentation to their classmates via Zoom.

Mrs. Chapman said, “I am so proud of the work they have done!  Now, most of them have an inkling of what they want to do in the future; some of them know what they don't want to do, which is just as valuable.” Below are some of the students' research findings.

After doing this career research project, I am now even more confident that I want to become an occupational therapist in my future.

Sophie Mansfield 

A future career in medicine will include challenging courses, long hours of hard work, tremendous dedication, extra years of school, and the drive to achieve success.

Ellie Johnson

After this research, I have become much more certain about my future and very optimistic about what it may hold for me.  I also believe that architecture is the right career path for me.

Will Jennings

I want to follow my passions, even if that includes things other than marine biology, because it is so important to love what you do as a career.

Charley Wilkerson-Kemp

I learned from my research that psychology is my calling… My key takeaways are to start getting prepared for my future right away and to prepare myself for dealing with the disturbed human mind.

Chesnie Russell

I realize that it is going to take a lot of dedication and hard work to accomplish my goal of becoming a journalist, and creating a steady routine will help me stay on track.

Grace Melber

My outlook on life has changed after this paper because I have come to the realization that I need to do things now instead of later, and that the things I do now can impact my future a lot more than I would expect.

Ethan Bridges

The satisfaction of knowing that several years of tenaciously holding onto my dreams and striving to achieve them will make all the work I devoted my life to worth it.  I know God chose me to become an ER physician and He knows I have the potential for it.

Raegan Duroy

After concluding my research, I have found out how much I enjoy the prospect of getting into the business world and forging a career for myself.

Austin Benigni