Local News!

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Trader

Mr. Jeff Gricus, a Broker from the Board of Trade, came in to teach us today about his career.  He buys and sells corn for farmers who need the corn for their product.  He’s been in this job for 18 years and his degree is in Criminal Justice. 

He made a poster about to teach us about everything that is made out of corn. There are some amazing things on the board, for example: dresses, crayons, chalk, and ketchup. He deals with people from all over the world because when it’s the winter the farmers can’t plant crops so they get their corn from Argentina and hot places all over.

When he trades, he uses trading cards.  He gave us each a trading card as a sample.  His least favorite part of his job is the computers. Now they do all the communicating for them and he can’t share his thoughts anymore with his customers.  The best part of his job is meeting new people and that everyday is a new challenge!  He also likes to do math all day!!

He took this job because he liked the challenge and wanted to help others get what they need.  In his free time, he spends time at the hockey rink and coaching baseball.  He likes to cook and spend time with his family.

Mr. Gricus told us how wonderful it feels to be challenged and spend your time doing what you enjoy everyday!

Written by: Molly, Greta, Kaitlyn, and Olivia

Chicago Firefighter

 Yesterday we met a Chicago firefighter named Lieutenant John Gricus. LT. Gricus has been a firefighter for 15 years. He has a great job and we are going to tell you why.

Firefighters are here for us to put out fires and smoke and make sure people are safe.  It’s a lot harder than it looks to go into a burning building because you have to wear a huge jacket, a 30 pound air tank, air mask, carry an ax, and much more. You also have to use many tools like hoses and ladders.

LT. Gricus says that the best part of the job is “the awards you get from saving people.” And he also likes to help the new firefighters. But there are always downsides to the job. He said that the worst part of the job is not seeing his family a lot.  He works 24 hours at a time and then has 48 hours off, so sometimes that means working on the weekends and on holidays.

LT. Gricus’s tasks are teaching new firefighters how to put out fires. He has to get to the fire department early to prepare properly. He also has to get people in and out of burning buildings safety and put out any fires.

Lieutenant Gricus told us about his amazing job and responsibilities. Maybe we will want to be firefighters when we grow up!

Written by:  Ethan A. Ethan P., John, Omar, and Sean

General Manager of Volkswagen

 Today we met the General Manager of Larry Roesch Volkswagen in class. His name is Rich Sopron.  He taught us about his career and what he does there.  He told us that 1 in 10 people work in the auto industry.  That means at least two of us in our class will work in this area.  Interesting!

Mr. Sopron spends his day selling cars, talking with customers, and seeks to reach his goal every day.  He’s been selling cars for 11 years and started as a car salesman.  He is now the manager, or "the boss".

To be a car sales manager you don’t need a specific degree.   You just need a certain personality to talk to people.  The hardest part is trying to figure out what the customers want.  The best part is meeting new people.  The hours are hard because he works long days and on Saturdays.

Mr. Sopron began selling door to door, but he didn’t like hounding people so he wanted to customers to come to him.  This brought him to car sales.

A memorable moment is selling to celebrities like Carols Zambrano and being on television.  He was part of an interview on channel 5 news.

In his free time, he plays golf and takes care of his family.

A car sales manager would be a cool job because you get to meet new people and everyday is different.  We enjoyed his presentation!

Written by:  Gianna, Zachary, Ben, Max, Branden, and Adelina

 

Physical Therapist

This week, we met a Physical Therapist named Janel Featherstone.   She works in a rehab center.  She has worked with people ages six months to 105 years old.

Physical Therapy is a health care specialty involved with evaluating, diagnosing, and treating disorders of the musculoskeletal system.  A physical therapist is a healthcare professional who diagnoses and treats people of all ages that have medical problems or injuries that limit their mobility and ability to perform activities as well as they would like.

She needs to come up with treatment plans for what will happen to the patient.  Parts of the plan are exercise, range of motion, mobility training, pain management, and education.  They also come up with goals to get them to be able to do what they want to do.  Most patients that come in have problems with their bones or muscles.  Then they have to do a lot of exercises.

The kinds of equipment that she uses include: therapeutic ultra sounds, electrodes, heat, cold, and electricity.  There is also a pull up bar that she uses to help her patients get up from a bed, couch, or chair. There are many different tools in the rehab center.

There are good things and bad things. The good includes having a patient be able to do things that he/she wants to do and having a patient go home without pain and being able to move around.  The bad includes paperwork, weeks and weeks of exercising with the patients, and not being able to see a patient get better.

This career would be a great job to do.  We can help someone be able to do things that they couldn’t do without our help.  We would be ecstatic to be able to make a patient feel better.  We would love to see their face when they can go home.

           

Overall this job is a great job.  You can help people and make a difference every day.             

Written by: Abby , Jenna , Bryn,  and Franki                    

Executive Chef

Today we Skyped with the Executive Chef at the Westin Indianapolis. Her name is Kimberly Olson.

She has been a chef for 15 years.  She has a challenging job.  Ms. Olson is responsible for feeding 500 to 1,000 people each day.  She oversees all her cooks and dishwashers, is in charge of scheduling, and orders the food that she needs for each day.  She works about ten hours a day and sometimes seven days a week. Her uniform is a chef’s coat when working.  We saw her kitchen as she walked around, and it was huge!  We were amazed!

Her inspiration to become a chef was her love for cooking and baking.  She has always wanted this career since she was young.  Ms. Olson went to the Culinary Institute of America in New York.  She has worked in many places including Chicago, New York, Delaware, and Indianapolis.

She has worked for celebrities. She has even worked for President Obama when he was a Senator in Chicago for three years.  She was at the White House for kick-off of the Chefs Move to Schools Program and is very involved in that program as well.

The best part of her job is working with students in the Chefs Move to Schools program.  She is going to send us a special package for our classroom to get us started on our very own classroom garden!

We think a chef would be an awesome job! 

Written by: Branden, Violet, Zachary, Brooke

Civil Engineer

Today we met Mr. Tanbedawy, a Civil Engineer for a construction company. He has been in this career for over 20 years. He was inspired to become an engineer by loving to do math and building with Legos when he was young.  Mr. Tanbedawy talked a lot about how much he loved measuring and building and constructing things.  Math was the key in his inspiration!

Mr. Tanbedawy manages construction projects.  He builds new infrastructures such as roads, buildings, bridges, and dams. He transfers blueprints into the actual thing.  He makes sure that everything is done on schedule with good quality and safely.

His workday starts 7:00 am and ends around 4:00 pm., but sometimes he has to work later.  He does not need to wear a uniform unless he is on a job site.  Then he must wear the proper safety wear.

He says that his job is not difficult because he has the willingness and knowledge to do it.  The hardest part is he has to finish his projects on time and they need to be done properly and safely.  The most successful part is when he builds new infrastructure each year.  It is satisfying to watch the job be complete.

In his free time, he likes to read a lot. He also likes to plays soccer, swim, and spend time with his family.

It is really fun to be an engineer.  A couple of us want to be an engineer.  If you want to be an engineer, you need to work well with others and be patient. This may be the job for you if you like math, reading, and science.  We think an engineer would be fun because we know lots of math and we get to meet new people.  It would be awesome to be an engineer.

By: Omar, Max, Michael, Ethan, Olivia

Doctor

 Today we met an Infectious Disease Specialist. Her name is Dr. Aneta Bush.  She told us about how she takes care of people’s diseases in the hospital. When she was little she wanted to be a doctor because she liked to take care of other people.   She knew she wanted to be a doctor when she was five years old!

To be a doctor you need a lot of experience and education in science. She was in college for four years and then in medical school for another four years.  Dr. Bush earned a Bachelor of Science degree and then her M.D.

The happiest thing she does in her job is make people feel better.  Her most successful moment is when she watched a patient walk out of the hospital when other people didn’t think they would.   She loves to see her patients go home with their family again and be happy.  

Dr. Bush works about 50 hours a week.  The hardest part is that she has to work on some weekends and holidays.  This is hard because she has to be away from her family.  She has been a doctor for 17 years and loves her job!

Dr. Bush brought in some tools for us to see.  We were able to practice using her stethoscope and she showed us her “anatomy man”!  We also saw a tool that helps people control their breathing and open their lungs.  This was exciting to see!  Although she brought these in for us to see, she told us she uses her ears (to listen), eyes (to observe), hands (to examine) and brain (to think) every day!  These are the most important resources to her!

It would be cool to be a doctor like her.  She is able to care of other people and make them better.  The best part is seeing their smiles and watching them leave feeling better.

Written by: Max, Ben, Lauren, Jenna, and John

Human Resources Manager

 Today we had a visit from Mrs. Kelli Frank. She works at GSI Technology as a Human Resources Manager.           

A Human Resources Manager, or HR, has a big job.  She helps people and the company by recruiting the best for the job.  She also does the orientation to make new employees feel comfortable, handles the benefits, or insurance, and takes care of payroll so people get paid.  An HR Manager is in charge of training new employees, focuses on safety to make sure it’s a safe place to work, and is in charge of wellness in the company to help people be healthy.  She makes sure rules are followed and she is there when people need to leave the company as well.

Mrs. Frank was inspired to do this job because she wants to help people. In her job, she helps people find new jobs.  She also helps people find jobs at her company. She celebrates when people get hired.

The things she likes best about her job are getting to help employees and meeting new people.  She gets lots of visitors at her job.  She likes that everyday is different, and she is always learning.  The things she would rather not have are paperwork, and she is sad when people leave.  She also wants to help more people.

We learned a lot about Human Resources.  We think it would be an interesting job because you get to meet new people all the time and help them!

Written by: Lauren, Greta, Branden, and Olivia

           

Police Officer

Today we learned from a police officer.  Mr. Lane Neimann, the Deputy Chief of Police from North Riverside came to talk to us about his career.  He has been a police officer for 28 years.

In order to become a police officer, you have to take a lot of tests.  You have to apply, take a written and physical test, and complete an interview.  You also have to have a medical and a comprehension test.  Training happens at the Police Academy before you can officially become a police officer.

Mr. Neimann, as the Chief, works mostly in an office, but sometimes in a police car.  His department has around 30 officers.  Every six months, they all have to retrain or learn about anything new happening in the department.  He has to dress in uniform all the time so people recognize him as someone to come to for help.

The job of a police officer is to help people when they are hurt or in danger.  People call the police when they need assistance with many issues. 

The best part of his job is that he gets to help people all the time.  It is also good to take the people that are not following community rules away until they can do the right thing.  The worst part of his job is the hours.  He has to miss some holidays and events, works long days, and doesn’t get as much time with this family as he would like.

In his free time, Mr. Neimann coaches wrestling and baseball, and teaches at night.  He spends time with his family.

A police officer is a good job to have because they help people and our community.  It would be awesome to be a police officer!

Written by: Abby, Omar, Cole, Molly, Franki, Gianna

Pilot

Today we Skyped with a pilot in class. He’s name is Paul Francisco. He taught us about his job at American Airlines.  He called us from his home in Chicago, but has been in many places around the world.

In order to be a pilot, you need a Bachelor’s Degree in any subject.  You also need flight ratings, a commercial pilot’s license, and you need to be 23 years old to be hired by an airline.  Paul says you have to be good at science and math.  Today, he still learns about new models and technology.  He is currently learning how to use an iPad in the cockpit.

Paul has been flying since he was 17 years old.  He knew he wanted to be a pilot when his mom took him on a plane when he was eight years old. 

Paul described the best things about his job.  He was able to start at the minimum age you can to fly and he’s doing something he enjoys.  He also likes the people he works with and he gets to fly a 300,000 lb. machine!

His least favorite part is the hours.   He has to deal with different time zones and wake up times.  He does not have a normal schedule.  He also doesn’t get to see his family as much when he’s gone a lot.

He has flown celebrities like Alex Trebec and the Chicago Bears. He flew them after the 1985-1986 Super Bowl. He even got to hold the trophy and talk to the coach!

Paul told us, “Stick to what you love and keep working.  You will come out on top!”

A pilot is an fabulous career!

Mayor of Willowbrook

Robert Napoli has been the mayor of Willowbrook since 2008.  He knows there is a solution all the time. Whenever there is a problem he listens to the citizens.

In his career past, he has volunteered for government programs and donated his time to government officials and elections. He has been a high school teacher and worked at the Chicago Park District as a Building Manager at Soldier Field and saw a lot of games. After that, he became a Real Estate Appraiser.  Finally, he was asked to take over Mayor of Willowbrook while he was a trustee in Willowbrook.

A mayor makes sure everyone is doing their job by watching over the three departments of Willowbrook government.  The first is Public Safety (police department), Public Works (snow, grass, water), and Administration.  A mayor “listens to citizens.”  He is a facilitator and his main job is to find out the problems in the community and then find people to solve them.

The best part of his job is meeting new people and helping them solve issues they have.  Mayor Napoli believes we can solve our community problems even when they are difficult.  The most difficult part of his job is when he wants to do something in the community but he knows there isn’t enough money to fix the problem.  For example, he wants to build a new playground in Willowbook, but there is not enough money right now.  His plan is to save some money now and then save some money from next year’s budget as well.  Then we can get a new playground.

When Mayor Napoli is not working, he likes to spend time with his family, watch movies and plays, go to museums, and travel with his family.  He has a wife, three children, and six grandchildren.

Mayor Napoli “knows there’s always a solution.”  We enjoyed hearing from him and learning about his job.  Some of us now want to be Mayor in the future!

Written by: Kaitlyn, Max, Bryn, Ben, Michael

(with input from all the students in Mrs. Christopher's Third Grade)

Banker

Today, we learned about a banker. His name is Mr. Tim Dunning.  Mr. Dunning is a Vice President of Non-Profit Lending at Hinsdale Bank and Trust.  He has been in banking for 23 years!  He works long days.  He works with people and their loans.  Mr. Dunning has a great job and we are about to tell you why.

Mr. Dunning was inspired to become a banker because in college, he was successful in his business and finance classes.  He has a Master’s degree in Finance.

Being a banker means you have to read a lot and do a lot of math.  He has to write credit memos sometimes of 30 pages long.  He reads 2-3 times more than us every day to learn about his clients and loans.  He presents and talks with people and groups to learn what they need and want.

Mr. Dunning remembers his most successful moment.  He helped Ronald McDonald House Charities build the world’s largest McDonald’s House.  We think that is amazing because he was able to help people who needed it.

A banker is a fun job, but there are some downsides too.  Mr. Dunning does not like saying no to clients because then he can’t help them.  He likes to help clients so he tries to help them get their loans.

We think banking is a great career because it can help you continue to learn.  You also get to help people.  It is an awesome job!

Written by: Abby, Omar, Cole, John, and Sean

Porsche Salesman

Today a car salesman came in and taught about his job. His name is Geno Dobelman. He has been at his job for 7 years. He has been a salesman for 5 years. He works at Porsche in Westmont.

He’s seen many different people at his job. Some were even famous. He’s met sports stars, regular people, and even movie stars! Lucky…

Geno deals with lots of things and people. He works from 8 a.m. to sometimes as late as 10:30 p.m. He goes to work in uniform. The most cars he has sold is five in one day. He sometimes travels to learn more about the cars and people he works with. Geno doesn’t set goals for one day; he sets big goals to last a longer time. He works as best as he can. He said practice makes perfect. He does whatever it takes to make his client happy.

It would be fun to be a cars salesman because you get to meet new people every day and you sometimes get to test out new cars.

In conclusion, it would be awesome to be a cars salesman.

Written by: Pierce, Zachary, Franki, Molly, Omar, and Brooke

Automotive Technican

Our third grade class is doing a career project, yesterday Mr. Dennis Blanke came in and told us about his job as an Automotive Technician for Acura/Honda in Elmhurst. Being an Automotive Technician or Auto Tech means he fixes and does maintenance on cars. This is a great job and we are about to tell you about it.
 

If you want to be an Auto Tech you have to be careful of injury’s like cutting yourself or spraining your shoulder. We say this because they use many tools such as drills, an oil filter wrench, and a combination wrench. It also means you change oil, fix windows, and perform other basic maintenance.

 

When Mr. Blanke is at home he likes to ride his bike and swim with his family. Plus Mr. Blanke likes to build things in his spare-time.

 

Overall being an Automotive Technician is a very interesting and exciting job. Mr. Blanke taught us a lot about his AMAZING and FABULOUS job. Maybe you would like to be an Automotive Technician when you grow up?   

Written by: Olivia, John, Adelina, Bryn, Ethan, and Sean

Nurse

Today we met a traveling nurse named Mr. John W. Biel. He currently travels to hospitals all over the USA teaching other doctors and nurses how to use tools, such as heart monitors, properly.  He used to work at Loyola Hospital in the ICU, but then moved onto another step in his career.  

He has many tasks while working.  He follows doctor’s orders for patients, he gives patients their medications, and when needed, keeps patient clean to keep them healthy.  He also needs to make sure his patients are safe at all times. Sometimes he transfers to different hospitals when they need more nurses.

When he’s not working Mr. Biel is playing the guitar, sleeping, cooking, eating, and sometimes playing Wii.

We think it would be neat to be a nurse because you could meet new people like patients, other doctors, and nurses.  We also would be able to use our science and math knowledge in our career.

Written by: Branden, Violet, Greta, Kaitlyn, Ben, and Ethan

College Professor

A college professor named Dr. Sheri Lullo Skyped with us this week.  She teaches Chinese and Japanese Art History at Union College three hours from New York City.  A couple years ago she spent one year in China researching.  She collects new facts from China and Japan through her constant research. Then she teaches her class all the new facts.

To be a college professor you need a lot of experience in whatever you are teaching.  Sometimes it requires traveling.  For a college professor you need a Doctorate degree to teach at most Universities.  Some colleges will accept teachers with a Master’s degree also.  You don’t have a uniform but, you still should dress professionally.  Dr. Sheri Lullo teaches two classes three days a week.  She spends the rest of the time preparing.

We think it would be cool to be a college professor.  It would be interesting to be a professor in Asian art history because we can look at all the art and learn about history through pictures and photos.  We would love to work with people 18 to 22 years old in college.  It would be fun traveling to China and Japan.  It would be great to be a college professor.      

           

Over all we think a college professor would be a great career.  You can choose so many different subjects to teach.  We can’t wait to be older to learn more about this career choice. 

Written by: Gianna, Jenna, Abby, Max, Cole, and Michael

Graphic Novelist

Today, we learned about a special kind of author called a graphic novelist.  Our class watched these authors speak and illustrate during a live webcast sponsored by Scholastic.  Jeff Smith, Raina Telgemeier, and Kazu Kibushi were the authors we heard from.  Jeff Smith wrote the Bone series, Raina Telgemeier wrote Smile, and Kazu Kibushi created the Amulet series.

Jeff Smith likes his job because he wrote a lot of books in the Bones series.  He illustrated and wrote his books on his own.  He uses words and pictures that make you want to read his books.

Raina Telgemeier is a good illustrator when she draws emotions.  We cannot wait for her new book, Drama, which comes out in September.

Kazu Kibushi really impressed us by drawing without paying attention.  This made us really interested in reading his books.  Kazu has written four Amulet books.

An author is a great career because he/she writes the books based on their choices of topics.  Some of us would like to be an author because we can write and illustrate our own books however we choose.  This would be an awesome career.

(Picture included is from a page in the Bone series by Jeff Smith.  It is an example of a graphic novel.)

Written by: Molly, Abby, Gianna, Jenna, Franki, and Olivia

Career Project

Welcome to our Career Blog!

Children are often asked that big question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"  The truth is, many of them are not aware of what choices are out there.  Our third grade class has decided to seek that information.  We have asked volunteers out in the "real working world" to come and teach us about their career choice.  We want to know the great successes as well as the challenges that they face each day.  For the next two weeks, people from all different careers are coming into our classroom or connecting with us via Skype to help answer our questions.   Summaries of the visits will be posted on this blog and we encourage commenting.  We are all very excited about this learning experience!  Thank you for being a part of it!