Career Day 2024 brings professional inspiration to students

With close to 200 senior students in attendance, and sessions led by 33 professionals, our latest Career Day on March 8^th in Pully was a great success!

Career Day is organised by Collège Champittet and our parents’ association APEC. This interactive event invites students to learn about different career paths from members of our parent and alumni community, who share their own experiences and answer questions about their work in diverse industries.

First-hand career advice from the pros

Throughout the day, our guest speakers discussed their professions with small groups of students during 40-minute sessions. The intimate conversations offered a great opportunity for our older students to reflect on their university plans and career goals, and for our younger students to start thinking about the road ahead.

“You really see the quality of the Champittet community, the enthusiasm of the students, and the involvement of our parents at Career Day,” said Career and University Guidance Counsellor Jane Driscoll Himmelrich. “For students, it’s an invaluable experience to hear first-hand from professionals what they do, how they got there, and what advice they might give.”

Many of our students say that Career Day enables them to gain a deeper understanding of their areas of interest in the professional world, as well as clarify their future aims. 13^th-grader Giulio commented, “I now have a much clearer state of mind about what I will be able to accomplish and achieve, where I want to go, and what aspirations I have for the future.”

The wide range of professional fields represented at the event certainly helps to provide career insight: this year, we had guest speakers working in business management, engineering, life sciences, medicine, law, hospitality, sustainability, NGOs, sports management, performing arts and visual arts.

Lawyer and Champittet mother Alisia Grenville said, “This is my second year coming into Career Day, and talking to students about the field of law, both internationally and in the Swiss system. I love being with young people because they ask what they really want to hear. The questions have been phenomenal, from how to become a lawyer, to what does it mean to be a lawyer, and the value of being a lawyer (meaning salary!). We’ve answered those questions very openly and very honestly, and we hope that the takeaways are going to set the students on their path going forward.”

Many thanks to all our Career Day volunteers!