This spring, freshman Dani Michelson introduced a new club to DA’s campus: Career Club. Twice a month, the club meets after sit-down dinner in the Caswell library, where a chosen faculty/staff member shares insight on careers with which they have been affiliated. Each speaker offers explanations of these professions as well as pieces of advice and memories from their own experiences. The faculty members chosen to speak at these meetings are from a variety of backgrounds, providing students a glimpse into a wide range of professional careers that they might not have been willing to explore or exposed to before.

Michelson decided to start the club because of the endless “pestering” from his family about what profession he wants to pursue when gets older. He also mentioned that the motive behind this new club is to enable students “to decide on future professional careers from the information provided in meetings.”

For the first meeting, Dr. Hills, who worked at a pharmaceutical company prior to Deerfield, spoke to students about his experiences with chemistry graduate school life. Hills sees potential in the club, stating that once a format is determined “that will be optimal for good student-adult interaction,” the club will have a positive impact on students at Deerfield. Hills also mentioned that he felt a “strong disconnect” between doing well in the classroom and performing well in a job setting, explaining that the club would positively benefit students by offering a “more accurate picture of what the real world is like.”

For the most recent meeting, Mr. Kelly spoke to the group about his experience in this business world. Kelly spoke about commitment—expressing that “if you are fully committed to your idea, you’ll never fail.” He also talked about the ups and downs that he experienced when owning a business. Like Dr. Hills, Mr. Kelly expressed his enthusiasm for the club, sharing his hopes that the Career Club is able to integrate itself within the “Deerfield experience” for the coming years.