“Invest in Me: I am Your Future” (What I want to be when I grow up...)

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The RCEF partnered with the Redwood City Civic Cultural Commission in January 2009, to sponsor a joint essay and art contest with the theme “Invest in Me, I am Your Future: What I want to be when I grow up…” The Cultural Commission managed the art contest, which involved every school in Redwood City, while the RCEF managed the essay contest, which was limited to students in the Redwood City School District.

More than 2,100 students, or 26% of the district, submitted an essay, and every grade was represented. More than 2,000 students submitted a piece of art.

All kindergarten through third grade students who entered an essay were recognized for their participation. Fourth through eighth graders were eligible for college savings bond prizes for the top three essays for each grade. The savings bonds were all sponsored by parents in our district. More than 1,000 essays went through two rounds of blind judging, by two panels of judges, to determine the final winners:

4th Grade
1st place: Briana Das, North Star Academy
2nd place: Lizbeth Salceao, Clifford School
3rd place: Jackie Di Lorenzo, Roy Cloud School

5th Grade
1st place: Emily Ducker, North Star Academy
2nd place: Eliza Guizar, Taft School
3rd place: Langley Topper, North Star Academy

6th Grade
1st place: Lizeth Mota, Kennedy Middle School
2nd place: Jordan Hurwitz, North Star Academy
3rd place: Clara Woods, Kennedy Middle School

7th Grade
1st place: Anna Dagum, North Star Academy
2nd place: Lily Hartzell, North Star Academy
3rd place: Sarah Mejia, Kennedy Middle School

8th Grade
1st place: Jocelyn Seeley, Roy Cloud School
2nd place: Tina Haddad, Selby Lane School
3rd place: Paige Bonwood, Roy Cloud School

Awards were presented at the April 2009 meeting of the Redwood City School District board. The RCEF also showcased a selection of essays from all grades along with drawings from the art contest at the “Benefit for a Brighter Future: Invest in a Dream” event. Contest participants were present at the event as well to talk about their dream careers and read their essays.

We were able to gather some data from the contest entries, which tell a great and hopeful story about what our students want to be when they grow up. Most heartening for us, is the fact one of the top career choices overall is teacher. We think this speaks volumes about the quality of our Redwood City teachers and the vital role they play in the lives of our children and our future.

Top 10 industries selected by students for their future careers were:

• Sports
• Animal Care
• Justice and Law Enforcement
• Healthcare Education
• Arts & Design
• Services & Retail
• Science
• Hospitality/Food
• Technology

Other interesting facts:

• Kindergarteners trended heavily toward sports, police officer and ballerina. Also in this grade, were one princess, one king, four presidents, and six astronauts.
• By eighth grade students have come down to earth a bit: top careers for this group include medicine, law, veterinary science, sports, and education. Happily, one eighth grader still holds on to his dreams of space travel.
• Over two-thirds of the students desiring a career in sports were boys, but 40% of the students specializing in soccer were girls.
• At all ages, veterinarian was a popular choice as a career (8%) Within the animal care industry there were also 12 zookeepers and 14 animal trainers.
• 75% of students who want to be a doctor are girls; 97% of students who want to be a pediatrician are girls; 97% of surgeons are boys.
• Of those choosing technology, 80% are boys. All those specializing as video game designers are boys.
• 10% of our students want to teach.
• One third of all the students who want to be scientists are girls.
• 28% of career choices were in creative industries (art & design, entertainment and fashion)
• 39% of career choices were in compassionate careers (animal care, childcare, community service, education, healthcare and justice & law enforcement)

THANK YOU
We thank everyone who participated, including all the teachers who encouraged their students to submit an entry, and of course, the wonderful students themselves whose dreams will make a brighter future for us all.

Savings bond sponsors: Robbie & Vince Casarez, Jo-Ann & Rod Sockolov, Beth Chagonjian & Bruce Bohannan, Monika Schoenhoff & Roger Meike, Suzy & Chris Rohlfes, Kay & Clark Newby, Susie & Jim Peyton.

Judges: Dana LaMont, Alisa MacAvoy, Kim Freitas, Sue Dawley, Hilary Paulson, Thea Henry-Hamilton, Dorian Sheble, Georgia Jack, Jo-Ann Sockolov, Jennifer Knopf, Patricia McRae, Barbara Pierce, Roseanne Foust, Pat Gemma, Jacky Averill and Gail Fisher.

Volunteers: Gail Blomstrom, Robbie Casarez and Monika Schoenhoff, and everyone else who answered the calls for help!

And a special thank you to Denise Monroe and the staff at the Redwood City Park & Recreation. Without Denise’s help in coordinating the essay and art contest this collaboration could not have taken place.