OP Speakers Share Their Careers Insights With Pupils
08 Jul
In the last few weeks of term, we were delighted to welcome back three OPs who shared their career insights and spoke about their journeys since leaving the College.
Kathryn Lavery (Class of 2016) and Ruth Magill (Class of 2005), both spoke to Year 10 pupils on Friday 20 June.
Kathryn presented to Year 10 in their PSHE Careers session, and spoke broadly about careers in Law, her particular journey and her current role in the Defence industry. Kathryn encouraged pupils by reflecting on the values and practices that have helped her achieve success at such a young age: commitment to continuous improvement, being willing to make and learn from mistakes and treating others well. She also highlighted the importance of taking care of your mental health, not comparing yourself to others and being kind to yourself.
Ruth, speaking from her perspective as Procurement Sourcing Manager (Packaging) for Hotel Chocolat, provided Year 10 Food Technology pupils with a detailed insight into careers within the Food industry and how they interlink. Pupils were able to see how the Food industry is structured and Ruth shared advice on how to identify roles that would suit different personalities and interests.
Then, on Friday 27 June, Investment Banker Jason Evans shared his story and insights with our Sixth Form students. Jason's talk was peppered with nuggets of advice, such as 'Question, Listen and Act', 'Back yourself', and 'Choose your battles', but he framed these as lessons that he's learned over the years, intentionally avoiding simply giving a list of dos and don'ts. The students responded well with thoughtful questions, and a clear reluctance to leave at the end of the session! They also enjoyed his Swiss chocolate and free gifts which were offered as prizes for answering his questions!
Our thanks to Kathryn, Ruth and Jason for taking the time to speak so openly with our pupils; it was our pleasure to welcome these OPs back to Princethorpe.
If you are a parent or friend of Princethorpe who would like to volunteer to give a talk, please email Head of Careers, Jacqui Quinney, at jacquiquinney@princethorpe.co.uk. If you are an OP, please email Caroline Spencer at oldprincethorpians@princethorpe.co.uk. We would love to hear from you!