Teenagers learn about the world of work

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An inspiring teacher, Alyssa Sibley, 13, of Aurora, answers a question about her long term career goals during the teen employment seminar at the OfficeMax Corporate Headquarters in Naperville, Ill., on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. | Corey R. Minkanic~For Sun-Times Media

Updated: March 1, 2012 8:20AM

Students looking to learn more about the workings of business as well as get a leg up on finding work found plenty to think about Saturday morning as the DuPage County Branch of the NAACP and OfficeMax offered a free teen employment seminar from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the OfficeMax Corporate Headquarters building, 263 Shuman Boulevard here in Naperville.

Chairperson of the Youth Work Program for the NAACP LaToya Forrester said the organization began rolling out seminars for kids last October and that Saturday’s pre-registered total of 150 participants was by far the biggest yet.

“We are planning to offer these seminars on a monthly basis, and this is our third,” Forrester said. “We skipped November because of the holidays, but we’ve gone from drawing anywhere from 30 to 50 students during the first two seminars to three times that today. Kids are going to receive information about various aspects relating to the business world, and we’re also offering a job fair for any parents who have come out today.”

A fairly large crowd was already assembled by 9 a.m. in the cafeteria located in the lower section of the building where a complimentary breakfast was served before OfficeMax officials gave a 20-minute presentation about their company. Three 40-minute breakout sessions were offered later, where guests learned about a variety of topics including human resources, retail operations, legal matters, information technology and finance, diversity and merchandising.

Carolynn Brooks, vice-president and chief diversity officer for OfficeMax, said her company “has a heart for the community where it does business” and maintains a focus on helping teachers and students throughout the various grades.

“We know that some teachers spend as much as $1,000 of their own money for materials each year, which is why we have a campaign known as ‘A Day Made Better’ that awards a thousand teachers throughout the country with $1,000 worth of supplies each year,” Brooks said. “Our feeling is when you touch a teacher — that touches a student and then the community.”

Brooks said the goal of Saturday’s seminar was to give kids a sense of what life after high school might be like as well as possibly influence the direction they’d like to go. Arshaun Goodman, 17, of Broadview, said that sports journalism was a strong possibility for him and that he was hoping the breakout sessions Saturday would “help build up his competitive skills.”

“I feel whatever I can do to prepare myself for college and the world after that will help me,” Goodman said. “I want to learn some things about business and marketing. In terms of my career goals, I’ve always loved sports and writing and speaking, so being a sportscast journalist seems like the right thing to do.”

Tiara Woods, 16, of Berkeley, said she was hoping to land her first job soon and was eager to learn about any opportunities.

“I need to work to pay for college as well as have my own spending money,” she said. “I’m not scared about getting a job for the first time. I think if you like what you do, you’ll be successful.”

Downers Grove South High School student Yihang Zhao, 19, showed great poise in coming alone Saturday morning to learn more about how business operates in America. An immigrant from China who came to the United States in 2010, Zhao said her high school teachers “are very kind and patient and really care about you” and that she was curious about how OfficeMax works.

“I want to know more about America as well as how a company here works,” she said. “I plan to attend all the sessions and find out as much as I can.”

Jorge Jaime, 16, who lives in Oswego and attends Oswego East High School, said he was interested in the field of business and wanted to learn more about some areas of it that he has seen even at home.

“My dad has his own business and runs a restaurant, and I’m interested in the work I see him do in his office,” Jaime said. “I’m hoping to learn about business and marketing, and I find what my father does interesting. Hopefully, I can learn more about it.”