The Real World Project is designed to broaden the career perspectives of Juniors and Seniors at Big Bear High. The program brings professionals into the classroom, where students hear the unembellished stories of how these individuals came to make their career choices. The guest speakers bring more than just a tedious lecture. Students are directly engaged in discussions and activities led by the Guest Speaker. These experiences are meant to introduce students to the different career paths beyond academia.
Jay Obernolte talks to Mrs. Reynold’s Senior Government class about what is involved in running for the State Assembly.
Mikaila is a Big Bear High School graduate who is an Environmental Biologist. She worked for the United States Forest Service for a number of years but has recently become an independent contractor. In addition to her degrees she has acquired several certifications like hydrologist and snake handling which make her more competitive. She talked with students about how she went about completing both her Bachelors and Masters degree without accumulating any debt.
Linda Ricchiuti talked with senior students about her very interesting career path. For a relatively young woman, she has had at least 4 distinct career paths. Her most recent career is small business owner. She is the owner of The Copper Q, an espresso shop with a bakery/cafe and retail shop in the Village. She talked with students about the fact that her multiple career paths are going to be the way most young peoples lives will unfold. She made the point that the days of doing post high school work and getting a job and staying with that job until you retire are going to be very rare. Students also participated in an activity involving a number of products from her store. They were asked a number of questions regarding marketing and pricing products. This “hands on” activity gave students a chance to get a feeling first hand what being a small business owner is all about.
Jeannie Antes is a Big Bear High School Graduate and has been a very popular speaker in The Real World Project. She is requested as a small business owner but also as an artist. Here she is talking to some of Mrs. Seaman’s art student about her work as an artist.
Dr. Delandtsheer is a Big Bear High School graduate. After high school, he attended the University of Pennsyivania. Upon graduation he applied to 20 Vet schools and was not accepted at any of them and so he talks to students about perseverance. He talked about how he dealt with not being accepted to any Vet school. He did some reworking of his resume by retaking classes and applied to three of the best schools in the country and was accepted to all three. He graduated from UC Davis. His story is a great one for students to hear. He also gives a lot of insight into his profession.
