Three Opportunity Academy students had an opportunity on Monday, February 27 to showcase their career passions during a presentation for the Holyoke School Committee.
Nasya Copeny opened the presentation sharing a slideshow on the Ecology of the Quabbin Reservoir that she researched and produced as part of an independent-study project at OA. She also shared a three-dimensional and illuminated model she made of the fish hatchery in Belchertown, which she built in her kitchen over several months while maintaining her studies at OA and also working.
David Rosario shared the decision-making process he has followed while weighing two very different career paths: Becoming a professional chef or an automobile mechanic. There are strong pulls to both pathways, he explained. Being a chef appeals to his love of cooking, his competitive nature, and his drive to produce a perfectly prepared meal. But he also has loved cars since childhood, including how they feel and sound, how they can be transformed to reflect personal styles, and the thrill of fine-tuning racing cars. His career exploration also included researching the education needed to excel in each field, and how much money he could expect to earn in each. Chefs have the potential to make more in the long run, he said, but entry-level pay is less for chefs than mechanics.
Danieliz Diaz spoke of the research she has done on substance abuse, her interest fueled by losing someone in recent years to addiction. She was dismayed to learn there simply aren’t enough treatment options for teens, young adults, and those without insurance. Of the 20 treatment locations in the area contacted as part of her studies, only three even answered a phone call and none would provide services to people under the age of 18. More needs to be done to support younger people, she said, noting that children as young as 6th grade are already smoking cigarettes.