Career day: Eighth-graders get taste of working world

By Ethan Forman
Staff writer

March 14, 2008 12:31 am

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DANVERS — Dr. Elaine Bird and a 10-year-old Labrador retriever named Savannah may have persuaded some eighth-grade students yesterday to pursue a career in veterinary medicine.

"It was really good," said Alex Cordova, after hearing Bird speak to eighth-graders at Holten Richmond Middle School during a career day. "I always wanted to be a vet when I was a little girl, but I stopped, and now I want to do it again."

Bird spoke to students about how it took her 15 years to tackle her fear and decide to switch careers at age 39. It then took her 21/2 years to take the required courses to begin to earn her degree. She also spoke of the difficulty of treating animals due to the simple fact that we outlive them, and often a vet's job is to end a pet's suffering.

"If we own these animals, we lose them at some point," said Bird, a former middle school PTA president who works for the Feline Hospital in Salem and the Danvers Animal Hospital.

While the class she spoke with had few questions, she seemed to make an impression nonetheless.

"She told us a lot about the work she had to do," Alex said, "but if you are up for the challenge (of becoming a vet), you are good."

Bird spoke to students with the help of Savannah and her owner, Susanne Tagg of Danvers, a retired middle school guidance counselor who brought her pet to the class. Tagg explained how the formerly malnourished and abused dog had been rescued from a puppy mill in Brockton about eight years ago to become part of her family "through a lot of patience, hugs and love."

Beside Bird and Tagg, a lawyer, an author, firefighters, police officers, contractors, a day care director, an anesthesiologist, cosmetologists, the owners of Grappa's Restaurant, an actor, the director of dance at North Shore Music Theatre, a woman who works in advertising and a senior manager of security services for the Boston Red Sox gave 288 eighth-graders a taste of what they do.

Groups of 20 students rotated among classrooms to get a sampling of three careers.

While it may seem early for middle schoolers to begin thinking about a job, eighth-grade guidance counselor Lindsay dos Santos said it makes sense.

"The hope is to get them prepared for high school and beyond and to get them thinking about the real world," dos Santos said.

Bobby Deschenes got a real taste of medicine when anesthesiologist Dr. Peter Furmonavicius put adhesive pads and a blood-pressure cuff on his arm and hooked him up to a monitor that read his vital signs like blood oxygen levels and the electrical activity of his heart, as well as his blood pressure.

"Is he dying?" a boy asked. Furmonavicius said Bobby's vitals looked good, and he even gave him a printout of his electrocardiogram to keep.

"It was fun," Bobby said, "and kind of weird."

When asked if he wanted to be a doctor, Bobby said, "Possibly."

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