Union High School students were treated to presentations from over a dozen local professionals Monday at Career Day. Dentists, law enforcement officers, construction workers and small business owners were some of the many professionals who came to the high school to talk to students about what they do, answer questions and give students advice about the future.
“It’s not to early to start,” said Occupational Therapist Chad Brasher.
In occupational therapy, Brasher said, the goal is to help a patient perform their daily tasks better and with less difficulty. He said it can be as simple as helping someone be able to button up their shirt on their own.
“Occupation is what occupies your time, not what you do,” he said. “You have to focus on treating the whole person to find your satisfaction. If you just focus on whether or not they get better, you’re probably not going to like it.”
Brasher, who works at Hilltop Nursing Home, explained people often confuse his profession with physical therapy such as helping a car accident victim walk again.
“We mainly focus on above the waist, while PT does below the waist,” he said.
“You help facilitate independence,” said Naja Walton, an occupational therapy student at University of Mississippi Medical Center. “You evaluate an activity, and you facilitate the activity.”
By facilitate, Walton said, an occupational therapist tries to make that activity easier through assistive equipment, braces or exercises to increase mobility.
Walton and Brasher were just two of the 20 local professions represented at Monday’s Career Fair, which included: Delta Directional Drilling, occupational therapy, nurse practitioner, radiologist, speech pathology, dentist, electrician, National Guard, cosmetology, law enforcement, the United States Air Force, lawyer, pharmacy, small business owner, construction, sports medicine, education and agriculture.
Deanna Rush, UHS principal, said students were given the opportunity to select four speakers they would be most interested to see present and visit with them.
Students were able to spend 30 minutes with each of their selected professions asking questions, hearing about the daily work load and getting an inside look at what courses they might need to take when they get to college.
For those students who weren’t quite sure what they’d like to do yet, Brasher said there’s no rush. The most important thing, he said, is for the students to find something they’re passionate about.
“If you don’t, you’ll regret it,” he said. “Maybe not now, but in about 40 years.”
Whether occupational therapy, zoology or business, Brasher encouraged students to find what they’re passionate about, learn how to do it and make that their career.
