Third Annual Career Day Inspires Upper School Students

On Friday, March 7, Upper School students participated in the third annual Career Day, designed to help them explore their interests and as many career options as possible in order to prepare them for life after WIS.

The day's plenary session was a discussion between Upper School Assistant Principal Anne Leflot and Jack Huffard, a WIS parent and an accomplished start-up and growth software company executive. Jack co-founded Tenable, Inc in 2002 and currently serves on Tenable’s Board of Directors.

Jack spoke about his career path and his journey to founding Tenable, which included managing risk, taking chances, and trusting his instincts. For example, early in his career, he realized that he wanted to pivot from what he was doing because: "it's not about the next career step; it's about the career path. When you're talking to some very successful people about their occupations today, don't just stop at what's the immediate job. Focus on where does that job take you or where can it take you?"

Jack told the audience that it's okay to not know what they want to be when they're adults; it's important for them to have experiences and figure it out. He added "your journey is your journey. Your parents, your teachers, your professors in college, some of the early mentors that you have, all have a perception of what a career for you SHOULD look like. It wasn't until my early 30s that I took control of my journey...You need to build those relationships, but also understand that it's your journey and yours alone."

After the keynote address, students attended four different 30-minute sessions facilitated by two to three WIS parents and/or alumni. Presenters shared their academic and professional background, the nature of their current work, and/or what a typical day at work might look like, then took time to answer questions. Students were able to choose from a wide range of career paths, such as medicine, computer science & engineering, nonprofits & NGOs, marketing & communications, education, real estate, law, journalism & media, fashion, film & television, and government & policy.

We are grateful to all the parents and alumni who volunteered to speak to our students, especially Jack for such a great opening session, and for the work of the parents and staff members behind the scenes who helped make this day a success!