The Palo Alto City Council organized an event at the Mitchell Park Community Center for teens to learn more about jobs that aren’t typically seen as successful on Saturday. The event focused on highlighting different paths by including interactive stations, informational panels, and a raffle ticket giveaway for participants.
Event organizer Julie Lythcott-Haims spoke about the motivation behind the event. “We’re trying to show you there’s so much more than engineering, law, business, medicine, and finance. Today is about the freedom to discover more about who you are and the workplace and career opportunities that are out there that you may never have heard of and may never have even considered,” she said.
After the speech, students and participants were allowed to start exploring the area. They browsed stations and talked with professionals in various fields of work ranging from artists to police officers to architects and more. The professionals stayed at their stations, as attendees walked up to them and asked questions about their everyday life.
Participant Vladisl Vuković thought that the best part of the event was the sculpture art station. Vuković also compared the event to a similar one he had at his own school and said this one was much better. “I thought it was very interesting and kind of cool to see,” he said.
One of the artists, Robin Mullery, creates art out of concrete. Both a sculptor and therapist, Mullery puts a big emphasis on enjoying what you do in life. “Success isn’t about making a lot of money, it’s about doing what you love,” she said. “I think art is a wonderful way to express creatively what’s happening inside of you. It can be very healing to feel like you can visually represent something that feels so deep inside.”
Lythcott-Haims’ underlying message for the event was that students are mentally pressured to work hard and set themselves up long term so that they can get a stable, high paying job. “One way we could improve youth mental health is to expand their understanding of their future possibilities,” she said. “That narrow definition of success; law, business, medicine, engineering, is harming some because if they don’t see themselves within that or they don’t feel like they can be excellent within those parameters, then they feel a sense of hopelessness.”
Palo Alto Senior Community Services Manager Adam Howard said that everyone should be able to enjoy the work they do and not feel restricted. “Oftentimes we’re pigeonholed into being a doctor, lawyer, engineer. There’s so much more out there, and maybe that’s for you, but if it’s not, that’s okay, because there’s a lot of other things, and this is just kind of a tip of that iceberg. So just see what else is out there,” he said.
