The youngsters of Montgomery Elementary School in Brookhaven explored future professions at the annual Career Day held April 3.
The approximately 450 students rotated through the school on Ashford-Dunwoody Road to hear about the lives of doctors, engineers, journalists and others.
WSB-TV anchor Jovita Moore, whose daughter Shelby is in Kelly Denbow’s first-grade class, was one of the more than 20 presenters.
“Montgomery is near and dear to my heart,” Moore said. “I know it’s important to get out when I can and talk to kids about what I do, and Montgomery is special because I have had children here. It’s my way of giving back, not just because of what I do, but also as a parent.”
Moore talked to the children about why the news is significant and what her job entails.
“The news is what we call a public service,” she said. “So we are here to inform people and let the public know what is going on.”
She discussed her recent business trip to Egypt, where she investigated King Tut for a piece on the current exhibit at the Atlanta Civic Center. She also told the students what sparked her interest in reporting.
“When I was your age, I had to watch the news because we only had one TV in our house growing up,” Moore said. “When my mother came home from work, she turned on the news every day. I think that is why I ended up liking the news.”
Another popular presentation came from two linemen with Georgia Power, Wayne Melvin and Franklin Guerra. The company frequents schools as part of an educational program called Power Town, which promotes electrical safety to students from kindergarten to 12th grade.
“Safety is a very, very important part of our job,” said Melvin, a resident of Ball Ground. “It allows us to go home safely every night to our families.”
The two men amazed Colleen Lawrence’s kindergarten class by demonstrating equipment such as a line hose and rubber gloves, which protect the workers from live wires with charges up to 30,000 volts. But the children were most impressed when Guerra hoisted himself in the bucket truck that extends 60 feet in the air.
Peggy Lavender’s fifth-grade class was equally fascinated with golf pro Jared Sobelson. The Chamblee resident attended the former Nancy Creek Elementary School in Brookhaven and now works at the Standard Club, a private country club in Johns Creek.
Sobelson detailed his job as a golf instructor and facilitator of junior clinics for 6- to 15-year-olds.
He told the students the “neat things” about his profession, including how he organizes tournaments for organizations like the Atlanta Braves and the Ladies Professional Golf Association.
“One of the coolest things about my job is I get to interact with people on a daily basis,” said Sobelson, who was invited to speak by Career Day coordinator and cousin Adam Swartzberg, a special education paraprofessional at Montgomery. “I’ve gotten to meet a lot of celebrities,” including basketball great Charles Barkley and former Atlanta Braves star Dale Murphy.
Sobelson tested the kids with trivia, tossing out such prizes as golf balls and baseball hats. The students eagerly participated.
“I love working with kids,” said Sobelson, who grew up playing baseball at Murphey Candler Park. “When I was a kid, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I think it is neat for them to see firsthand what some people do in order to have a goal.”