Mill Lake Elementary School career day showed diverse careers
By: Michelle McGuinness
MONROE Whether they twisted balloons into animals, learned to execute a confident sidekick or decorated the interior of a fictional Italian restaurant, the students of Mill Lake Elementary School got a diverse and sometimes interactive taste of professions at Career Day.
The daylong event June 1, organized by second-grade teacher Cindy Cook and third-grade teacher Diane Shadell, featured guests such as Abraham Tran and Rich Rendeiro of the Monroe American Taekwondo Association Black Belt Academy on Spotswood-Englishtown Road.
"When you’re a leader, you’re a leader all day long," Mr. Tran told students.
Using his experience as a martial arts teacher, he taught students the importance of having confidence and setting goals.
"Whether it’s really good grades in school," he said, "or maybe getting your black belt in tae kwon do."
Mr. Tran asked the students, who were organized in two lines in the gym, to walk to the far end of the room like leaders. He then taught them a couple of martial arts moves.
"We’re going to add a confident yell to that punch," he said, throwing a jab himself and shouting.
Mr. Tran, who started teaching martial arts when he was 18, recounted stories about his friends one has worked with actor Jackie Chan and another has even acted as a stunt double for "Pirates of the Caribbean."
"How would you guys like it if you were paid to play soccer (or any other sport)?" Mr. Tran asked. "That’s pretty much what we get to do."
"We get paid to do what we love to do," he said later.
Third-grade students also got the chance to meet Monroe resident Eddie Murphy, a former Royal Caribbean cruise director originally from Australia, and Patrol Officer Jabazz Spence of the Monroe Township Police Department.
"I wanted to travel the world and see different countries," Mr. Murphy told students.
He drew impressed gasps from students when he said his former boat, Voyager of the Seas, had a hockey rink on one of its decks.
Mr. Murphy left students with his motto: "Here for a good time, not for a long time."
Officer Spence delivered a more sobering presentation when he addressed students on bicycle safety and shared valuable information about traffic and bicycle with students.
"Be responsible for yourself," he said. "Make sure your bike fits you."
Other guests included Monroe residents Sharon Aitken, also known by her stage name, Bubbles the Clown, and Susan Castellano, whose sister works as an interior designer, but who herself is a stay-at-home mother. Both Ms. Aitken and Ms. Castellano were invited to Career Day because their children attend Mill Lake.
Ms. Aitken delighted second-grade students by not only juggling balls for them, but allowing the children themselves to try juggling using scarves. She then gave students balloons and taught them how to twist them into dogs.
Ms. Castellano’s presentation also turned interactive when she gave students mock blueprints for a fictional Italian restaurant and asked them to design the interior.
Third-grade students Adam Daus and Samantha D’Aversa disagreed on their favorite part of the day. For Adam, it was seeing Mr. Tran’s martial arts presentation, but Samantha said she liked the gymnastics presentation that occurred in the morning.
"I liked seeing (Mr. Tran) again," said Adam, who has met Mr. Tran previously through his Boy Scout den.
Though they enjoyed the day, both students aren’t yet sure what their own careers will be when they grow up.
"I might be an author," Adam said, "but I don’t know."
Second-graders E.J. Fontaine and MacKenzie Conroy were also unsure, though MacKenzie said, "I’m thinking of being a nurse."
For them, Bubbles the Clown was the most exciting presentation of the day.
"My favorite thing all day was when we saw a clown," E.J. said. "She was funny."
Ms. Shadell, one of the organizers of the event, said it occurs every year because it "exposes (students) to the different careers that are out there."

