Sometimes, all it takes is one conversation to open a door to a future a student had never imagined for themselves.
For many students, conversations about the future can feel both exciting and overwhelming. This year’s St Stephen’s School Careers Expo encouraged students to approach the future not with pressure to have all the answers, but with curiosity and openness to possibility.
Held in the Duncraig Gym, the Expo welcomed students from both campuses to explore a broad range of industries, training organisations and post-school pathways. From universities and defence industries to trades, creative sectors and vocational opportunities, students were encouraged to consider pathways they may not have previously explored. Careers Advisor Sarah Cooke shared that her hope is for students to discover “the wide range of opportunities available to them that they may not have considered before with people who are willing to help them and answer any questions.”
For Ms Cooke a stand out moment was when a representative from the Defence Industry in Henderson told her he’d had some amazing conversations with our students who were asking about the impact of AI on industry. “It just highlights the thoughtful and future-focused conversations taking place throughout the afternoon” she said.
Sarah believes one of the biggest concerns students face is feeling as though they must already know exactly what career they want.
“The phrase I hear most is ‘I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up’,” she says. Instead, students were encouraged to focus on their current interests and the next step ahead, understanding that careers today are rarely linear and often evolve over time.
“The most important thing is that students find a pathway that they know matches their own skills, interests and personality,” Sarah shared. “Whether it be in employment or in training and learning – if they are interested and engaged, they will be successful.” Through events like the Careers Expo, St Stephen’s School continues to help students explore their futures with confidence and a growing sense of possibility.