David Barajas, CEO of the Marshalltown Regional Partnership, talks to Lenihan Intermediate School students during career chat on May 16.
Lenihan Intermediate School wrapped up its monthly career chat program by hearing from David Barajas, CEO of the Marshalltown Regional Partnership, on May 16.
Barajas focused mainly on the importance of communication, not in what we think of in communication through technology and screens but in face-to-face human interaction.
Barajas talked to the students about helping the people of Marshalltown of all cultures reach their dreams, whether they are a first generation student ready for college or a family looking to expand their business. Barajas gave the advice to learn from every experience and live in the moment.
Career chat is facilitated by Vanessa Engel, Extended Learning Program teacher at Lenihan. It featured a wide array of community members who spoke to students about their careers this school year.
“I feel like the career chats went really well this year in that students really got to interact with local professionals in a meaningful way,” Engel said. “Advice from seasoned successful adults of Marshalltown shows students that they can make a difference in their community. This activity showed students that they have a voice. Not only did they learn from our guests, our guests learned from our students. David Barajas even asked students what they would like to see in Marshalltown and the overwhelming response…an arcade. I think that this is a great example of personalized learning that I hope will continue to catch on throughout our district. I plan to continue this next year so if there are any local professionals that are interested in jumping on board next year, please feel free to contact me. 🙂”
