Career Day Speakers

A U.S. Congressman. A female firefighter. A cake decorator. Two local small business owners. A meteorologist. A cancer specialist. These are among the 30 Career Day adults who spoke to fifth-graders enrolled at Ridgecrest Elementary School during special presentations in April and May.

A visit in April by U.S. Congressman Ted Poe (R-Humble) kicked off the Career Day presentations. Congressman Poe met with the fifth-grade class in the library. The attendance boundaries of the school are part of Rep. Poe’s 2nd Congressional District.

He spoke to fifth-graders about his federal duties and personal interests. He is well known for his interest in Texas history. His advice for Spring Branch ISD students included the following: • Listen to your parents. “If you treat your mom badly, you will pay for it.”

• Don’t use alcohol, drugs or tobacco.
• Stay in school. “For some reason, too many boys quit school in ninth grade.”
• Be your best. Don’t be a loser. “Pick something that you really love to do when you pick a future profession.”

Congressman Poe is vice chairman of the House of Representative’s Immigration Subcommittee. In response to a question on immigration, he said: “There are a lot of things we have to fix because there is a lot in the current law that is broken.”

Many Ridgecrest students raised hands when asked by the congressman if they had any family members currently serving in the U.S. military. “Tell all of your family members, ‘Thank you!’ for their service,” he said proudly. In addition to Congressman Poe’s April visit, a Career Day was held at the campus on May 9 that attracted more than 30 speakers. Presenters included:

• KHOU TV-Channel 11 meteorologist Mario Gomez
• Lail’s Carpet Cleaning owner Harvey Lail
• Missouri City Police Dept. officer Daniel Monroy
•  M.D. Anderson Cancer Center specialist Dr. Victor De Leon
•  Lyondell Co. industrial firefighter Reynaldo Lopez
• R&M Service Co. Inc. project manager Kyle Hovarth
• Female Houston Fire Dept. firefighter Terri Salinas

On May 9, Channel 1’s Mario Gomez featured Ridgecrest Elementary and his school visit on his station’s 5 p.m. weather newscast. Ridgecrest Principal Trish Thomas said the Career Day was tied to learning and district goals. “Our students were so excited to see the possibilities of choices in careers and the educational steps needed to reach those possibilities.

The goal of Career Day was to have a wide variety of speakers aligned with Spring Branch ISD’s district goal of informing and preparing all students to reach their career goals,” she said.