Career Day Brings Professionals To Newtown Middle School

By Eliza Hallabeck

Career Day at Newtown Middle School brought 22 visitors to the school on Friday, November 13, when professionals from many different fields came to the school to share what they do with the students.

Each presenter was assigned a different classroom to use for the day, and students signed up for which persons they wished to see. The day helps students to focus on which classes they intend to take when they eventually move up to the high school.

The presenters shared their experiences with students over three separate half-hour sessions with groups of students.

In the auditorium, Officer Andy Stinson waited with his canine partner, Baro, and with Officer Lenny Penna, the school resource officer at NMS.

Officer Stinson introduced Baro, the more than 100-pound dog sitting patiently on the stage of the school’s auditorium. 

Baro is a police dog who, Officer Stinson said, has been trained to find drugs and perform other tasks. Officer Penna helped Officer Stinson and Baro demonstrate one of these tasks, by having Baro practice a training attack on Officer Penna.

“Today Officer Penna is going to be bit in the arm,” said Officer Stinson.

When Baro is at home with Officer Stinson, “He’s a big baby,” but on the job, Officer Stinson said, “he knows it is time for work.”

To demonstrate Baro’s training, Officer Penna wore an exposed sleeve, which tells Baro where to attack. The sleeve also helps protect Officer Penna.

“Short of the dog being shot,” Officer Stinson said as Baro was biting Officer Penna’s arm where the exposed sleeve was, “the dog is going to win that fight.”

Down the hallway, IBM environmental engineer David Speed spoke to students about is job with IBM.

He said the facility where he works is so big, it is almost like a town, and sits on about 500 acres. To become an environmental engineer, Dr Speed said he received his doctorate degree from the University of Connecticut in environmental engineering.

In the different classrooms presenters demonstrated careers ranging from an attorney or illustrator to a musician or pilot. Students from Henry Abbott Technical High School also attended the day to explain what the school can offer students.

Burt DeMarche and Justin Quinn from The LaurelRock Company, based out of Wilton, shared the landscape design and maintenance firm’s design process with students. During the presentation students designed their own landscape projects and received feedback from the presenters.

Plumbing and heating contractor Chris Soderquist showed students a part of the school not normally seen by most to help them understand what he does.

The Newtown Middle School is heated by steam boilers, and after walking students through the heating process for their school, he said to become a plumbing and heating contractor, he attended Henry Abbott Technical School. From there, he said, he went on to become an apprentice, and then registered as a journeyman with the state.

“The nice thing about my job is in a lot of ways it is recession proof,” said Mr Soderquist. “No matter how bad the economy is going to be, I am always going to have a job.”