Harriton & Lower Merion Host Annual Career Symposiums

Students at Harriton and Lower Merion high schools recently had the chance to explore dozens of possible futures during their schools’ annual Career Symposium events, where more than 130 presenters shared insights from a wide range of industries, occupations and career paths.

Through the symposiums, the Aces and Rams learned about educational requirements, day-to-day responsibilities, career journeys, industry insights, “tricks of the trade” and more from presenters across a broad range of fields, including:

One highlight of Harriton’s Career Symposium was the participation of young alumni, whose presentations offered students a valuable perspective from professionals who are still in the early stages of their careers.

“The Career Symposium reflects the pillars of our core values: community, growth and character, and our Young Alumni initiative helps bring that vision to life,” said Harriton school counselor Kimberly Thompson. “The strength of our Career Symposium has always stood on the shoulders of our parent/guardian and local community members, whose expertise has been invaluable to student learning.”

“Young alumni offer a different and equally important perspective,” continued Thompson. “Many are just beginning their careers and are still immersed in the daily grind of early career development. Some work in emerging fields that did not exist years ago, while others are pursuing more traditional roles. Some have predictable career paths, while others navigate a more fluid professional journey, moving from contract to contract. Exposure to this wide range of careers gives students a broader, more realistic understanding of the many ways one can define success.”

As students move closer to college, careers and life beyond high school, programs like the Career Symposium help make those next steps feel more tangible. By hearing directly from professionals about the paths they took, the challenges they faced and the skills they use every day, students are able to connect classroom learning to real-world possibilities while gaining a clearer sense of the many directions their own futures may take.

Thank you to the following community sponsors for supporting the Harriton and Lower Merion career symposiums: Hope’s Cookies, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Wawa, Wonder, P.J. Whelihan’s Pub + Restaurant, Snap Custom Pizza, Panera Bread and Crumbl Cookies.

To view photo galleries from both the Harriton and Lower Merion Career Symposiums, click on the respective links below. 

• Harriton Career Symposium
• LMHS Career Symposium