Mount Mercy Academy held their third day of career presentations last week.  The students were able to learn about careers in construction, working with the blind, food services and higher education in Development Education.

Kelly Maloney, a senior construction projects manager for Gilbane Building Company spoke to the students about her career and her career path.  She has worked in the construction field for 17 years, modeling for the students that it is possible for women to succeed in a male-dominated industry.  She has worked on such projects as the renovation of ECMC and a major warehouse building in Grand Island.

Junior Natalie Vicaretti (Blasdell) commented, “Mrs. Maloney noted that she mostly works alongside men. She was not taken seriously when she first started so she is now part of a mentoring group that helps young women make the transition from college to the workplace while being treated seriously. Knowing that Mrs. Maloney pushed herself and proved that the men at her workplace were wrong, was very inspiring.”  Fiona Tournour (Boston) was impressed with the projects at the well-known sites that Mrs. Maloney had worked.

Kim Bandura, an Orientation and Mobility Instructor for the NYS Commission for the Blind, spoke about her career and shared with the students many of the devices she uses to help the blind.  Bandura has worked in her field for 22 years and serves on many boards that work for the visually impaired.

Junior Sophia Nasca (Eden) learned a great deal from Bandura. “Mrs. Bandura’s insights on working with visually impaired people informed me about the differences between various visual impairments and how they can affect people’s daily lives. I realized how difficult small tasks could be for people who are visually impaired and how professionals like Mrs. Bandura could provide these people with tools and teaching to aid them in their normal activities,” Nasca remarked.

“After listening to Mrs. Bandura I realized that I should never take anything for granted because anything can happen at any moment,” junior Paige Lapadat  (Orchard Park) said.

Bridget O'Brien Wood, the Director of Food Services for the Buffalo Public Schools, informed the students about various components of her career. She administers the Child Nutrition program for 75 students, serving over 27,000 lunches and 24,000 breakfasts daily, while following the USDA requirements.

Junior Olivia Macholeth (West Seneca) was shocked by some of the information Wood presented. “The fact that many children's only source of good nutrition is from their school breakfasts and lunches baffles me. I feel that this really shows how important it is for school districts to provide nutrition-filled meals to their students, since many children are in poverty, and their parents can't afford healthy meals at home,” Macholeth stated.  Junior Joelle Poleto (Buffalo) was surprised to learn that Wood has students do taste tests for the meals they serve.

Sharon Green a 1969 graduate of Mount Mercy Academy, educated the girls about Higher Education in Development Education at the NY College Learning Skills Association. Green worked as an educator for 39 years, most recently assisting college students with learning skills.

Senior Adrianna Awald (Gowanda) was grateful for the trails blazed by people like Green. “From listening to Ms. Green, I learned that I am extremely blessed to have so many career options available to me. I am not limited in what I am able to pursue by society as many women were in the past. This presentation made me think of how much I owe to the pioneers in various male-dominated fields that destigmatized career paths for women,” Awald revealed.  

Classmate Abbie Dziadzio (Buffalo) shared similar sentiments “I really loved Ms. Green’s positivity and personality. She talked about how when she was going to college there were only a few career options for women. That surprised me a lot because now there is such freedom in career choices, you can become whatever you would like in this generation. Despite having few choices of careers, the speaker said she didn't regret her career choice but she wished she could have grown up in this generation to learn new things and maybe choose a different path in life,” Dziadzio said

Mount Mercy wraps up the career presentations this week with four more speakers.