Local professionals help Scarlett students hone interview skills on annual Portfolio Day

May 17, 2019 AAPS News Editor Features, Latest news, Middle School News

Story, photos and video by Jo Mathis/AAPS District News Editor

Scarlett Middle School’s annual Portfolio Day is a rite of passage for more than 200 eighth graders, who shared their portfolios of classwork and awards with about 90 local professionals representing a wide variety of fields.

“The event is a long standing tradition that our community looks forward to every year,” said Salvador Barrientes, Scarlett ELA teacher who helped plan the event. “The kids are so proud of their accomplishments and the work that leads up the event. For some of our kids, this event will literally change the trajectory of their professional ambitions.”

Several of the volunteers—who gave up their afternoons to help the students hone their interview skills—said they enjoyed the conversations with students just as much as they hoped the students did.

“I think it went great—I was more nervous than the student I was interviewing,” said Amy Shepherd, who works in education.  “She was really fascinating. She showed me her portfolio and did a wonderful job with her presentation skills. She was very engaging and she’s going to do well. She’s going to do well.”

This was the fourth year Ann Arbor Police Officer Doug Martell volunteered his time at Portfolio Day.

“I think it’s a great idea,” he said. “I think the kids need the exposure to what the job market will be like, and I think it’s invaluable to have some kind of baseline understanding of what it’s like to do an across-the-table interview with a prospective employer.”

Lt. Doug Wing of the EMU Police Department, who has a son at Scarlett, said the students always have interesting questions for him.

“They ask what education is required, what’s my favorite part of the job, how did I get into, and what would be important for them to do to get a job,” he said. “I like talking to them about what they’re interested in. It’s a great program.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

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1 Comment

  1. It was a great event. Three of the five students I interviewed would have been recommended to the next round of interviews within my organization. Shout out to the teachers and the preparation of their students for the event. All had great portfolios/resumes and the life skills they presented were top notch. Mr. Wills-Begley and Mr. Berrientes deserve the credit for the preparation of all the students for the event. Thank you to the Scarlett Administration for the support to hold the event as well. GREAT WORK!

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