Thorpe alumni tell students about college, careers

Jim Thorpe students got a chance to interact with alumni and learn about their college and career experiences during jtTalks on Monday.

“We call it ‘jtTalks.’ Essentially, I coordinate alumni coming back to the school district to talk about their experiences in college and beyond,” Melanie Mauro, gifted support teacher, said.

“Some are in graduate school, some are working, some are coming back after their first semester, talking about their college experiences, special projects they’ve been working on, and things that they’ve been doing for internships and so on.”

The series started in the spring of 2015, when Mauro invited some Jim Thorpe alumni to speak to current students about their experience. Each talk presents a loose, easygoing format where students are encouraged to ask the questions about college and careers that often go unaddressed in the conventional sense.

Numerous graduates have made repeat performances, such as Christian Ferko, an MIT graduate pursuing a Ph.D. in theoretical physics at the University of Chicago.

Ferko served as a sort of senior host for new alumni, directing several talks on college applications, high frequency trading on the stock market, and elements of cosmology. A huge fan of the talks, he loves to impart his knowledge and open up students’ minds to the myriad ways that they can explore the world of science.

“It’s hugely rewarding. I’ve been doing it for several years now, and frankly, it is the highlight of my year. I’m training to be a scientist, and as a scientist, one is expected to give back and mentor at the high school level and the university level,” he said.

In a two-part workshop, Ferko presented a crash course in Einstein’s theory of general relativity, the inflation of the universe following the big bang, and string cosmology, followed by a hands-on workshop where students got to work with cosmological data. Students worked in teams, extrapolating solutions to problems by asking questions to assistants and applying their own logic.

Alumna Michelle O’Toole moderated panels on personal journeys and destinations, along with a talk on her profession.

“I work at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, and I do optics stuff, communications, lasers,” O’Toole said. “I came to talk about my job, as well as some life lessons I learned. Kind of my life advice, and some cool science that I have learned.”

O’Toole said that she hoped to impart a valuable lesson about making progress in life, despite challenges and struggles.

Different paths

In the LGI room, the myths of archaeology and anthropology were dispelled with help from West Chester University’s Lambda Alpha Nu Anthropology Honor Society. Outside of the obvious — no, you won’t be delving into Indiana Jones adventures — the group provided examples of career avenues available to archaeologists and anthropologists, and their own experiences working on projects in those fields.

“One of our main objectives is student outreach, that’s really important for what we’re studying in anthropology, because not a lot of people know about it,” honor society President Cydney Rader said. “There’s the misconception that there’s no job market. When I went to college and told my family that I was majoring in anthropology, I got a lot of criticism, ‘What are you going to do when you graduate?’ But, people are here to help you, and gain experience.”

Other workshops included lectures on high-speed data transfer to and from ships using lasers, citizenship in the 21st century, ROTC/military careers, health care career options, and many more.

“I love hearing back from alumni,” student Christian Gould said, citing the ‘Citizenship in the 21st Century’ talk as a particular favorite topic. “It’s inspirational, because this is what they’re doing, and that’s what they’re really passionate about. ‘I can go and do that!’ is the message they’re getting across. I really love talking to the alumni about their stories, their take on things.”

Some education-focused talks covered the breadth of college life, from scholastics to socialization, and how to navigate the field of your own career path.

“It was very intensive with the college experience. I learned a lot about campus life, what it’s like choosing your major, and that it’s OK to change your major,” student Rashawna Chambers said.

Pizza and comedy

Of course, it wasn’t all so serious. A round of “Never Have I Ever” allowed students to get a realistic view of the college experience from the perspective of those who really lived it. And things got downright goofy during lunch break, when students got a chance to chow down on some pizza and partake in improvisational comedy exercises, led by Ferko.

To round out the day, Ferko hosted a panel of speakers who answered questions submitted by the audience. Topics included the speakers’ biggest high school regrets, advice on how to get into a high-caliber tech company, and what Stephen King novel best represented the speakers’ college experience.

“I think this was a great thing to have. The week before break, kids are just tired and ready to go home. I think a lot more of these kids are going to be a lot more confident, looking forward to going to college,” student Day’Janee Beckham said.

Confidence was a key take-away for the day, and those proud Jim Thorpe alumni instilled all students in attendance with plenty of it. Chances are, they may have inspired the next generation of jtTalks speakers.

“It’s a really big inspiration for our students, to see kids leave such a small town and go out in the world and do big things, it really sends the message that, ‘Hey, we can achieve anything if we put our minds to it.’ That’s what I hope to foster,” Mauro said.