Students Envision Future Possibilities Through Cool Careers, Potential Paths

Cool Careers Potential Paths

What’s the best way to learn about career options as a middle school or high school student? Directly from the source! Cool Careers, Potential Paths is Student Leadership Network’s signature volunteer series. It connects students with professionals from a variety of industries to learn about educational and career choices. The series broadens students’ awareness of pathways to success and offers opportunities to practice networking skills. See some of the highlights of our fall events below!

Principal with four of her former students in a classroom

TYWLS Bronx Principal Devon Eisenberg, second from right, with her former students who returned as volunteers from Loreal and BlackRock.

Three volunteers are seated in front of classroom, talking animatedly with their hands

Heather G., center, shared about her career as a lawyer in the financial services industry.

Group of students and volunteers are talking in a small circle in a classroom

The group rotation format encouraged animated conversations and questions.

Volunteer is seated at desk talking with a student

Longtime volunteer Melissa G. shared her career path in the healthcare, music, and beauty industries with a TYWLS student.

Volunteers have a practice session with Student Ambassadors before sharing their career journeys in different classrooms.

Ariadne R., on far right, shared about community relations roles within banking.

Students Broaden Their Awareness of Career Paths

Many professionals shared that their own awareness of the types of jobs and ways to shape their careers came about over time. Heather, a volunteer from Apollo Global Management, shared that as a lawyer, she works in employment law and employer relations. “I hadn’t heard of employer relations until I took my current job… Part of my role is to make sure that all 4,000 employees and contractors who work with us are treated fairly.”

quote graphic with a volunteer's reflection on giving back to her community through career days

Another volunteer, Ariadne R., shared some of the history and laws that led to the creation of her role doing community relations at Citi. “Not a lot of people know this. All banks in the United States have a requirement to do community services where we have branches. [To address unfair lending practices] the government created the Community Reinvestment Act, which means banks have to give back to their communities.”

Ariadne is committed to volunteering and sharing her knowledge with the current students. “We didn’t have a career day when I was in high school. It’s important for me to come back to my community and do the work that I wish I would’ve seen.”

We are grateful for all of the volunteers who came to share their experiences and advice with our students. Thank you to our corporate partners for their continued support of our programs: The Estée Lauder Companies, Apollo Global Management, Bloomberg, Costco, Deutsche Bank, Intercos, Nike, RBC, Warburg Pincus, Société Générale, ConEdison, and Sony.

Volunteer with Us!

Are you interested in sharing your experiences to inspire the next generation of leaders and changemakers? Sign up to volunteer at one of our Spring dates!

January 30, 2025 at TYWLS Queens
February 5, 2025 at TYWLS Astoria
March 5, 2025 at TYWLS Manhattan
May 21, 2025 at TYWLS Staten Island

Group of students and volunteers pose for photo in a classroom

Thank you to our volunteers at TYWLS Bronx!

Three female volunteers present at front of classroom

Thank you to all of our volunteers for sharing their career paths with our students!

Thank you to the volunteers who came out to TYWLS Brooklyn!

Group of students and volunteers walk along school hallway

Thank you to our Student Ambassadors for guiding volunteers to their classrooms.

Group of students and volunteers pose for photo in a school hallway

Heather G. and Christine B., volunteers from Apollo, with student ambassadors at TYWLS Brooklyn.