Graves Middle School held their College and Career week last week, March 12th through the 16th, with activities and events on campus to inform students and parents about college and career readiness.
The week was full of activities and events that encouraged students to begin planning their road to college. The week began with a College Financial Literacy Night Tuesday, March 13, in the school cafeteria. This was a parent training event that walked families through what they need to know about saving for college and financial planning. This event was co-presented by Sylvia Juarez, from Juarez Consulting, and two presenters from Bank of Whittier.
Throughout the rest of the week students got to participate in a university themed door decorating contests, college themed activities during their lunch hours, and a “College Take-Over”. College Take-Over was an event where college presentations were made to all 8th graders.
The week concluded on Friday with Career day. Professionals from a variety of careers visited classrooms and spoke to students about their career, what it entails, and what their educational journey looked like to get them to their positions. Students got to hear from police officers, animators, therapists, poets, a banker, a nurse, and many others.
"Our 1st annual College and Career Week was very exciting and a lot of fun,” Graves’ principal, Dr. Fraijo, said. “We wanted to raise our students' awareness about college and careers by having them gain exposure to professionals who shared their personal stories of hard work and success. Our kids really enjoyed themselves and learned a lot."
This was the first year that Graves made their College and Career Day a College and Career week. The events were extremely beneficial to parents and students and Graves plans on continuing this College and Career Week and the College Financial Literacy Night in the years to come.