Computer software developers, pharmaceutical researchers, “adventure gift” salespeople, and members of the Marine Corps. Whatever one’s interest, there is likely a profession to represent it in the large downtown office building called the Hoboken Business Center at 50 Harrison St.
On Tuesday, Hoboken High School students visited the offices to learn about careers.
Professionals in health care, real estate, finance, industry, hospitality, and the arts entertained small groups of high school juniors in the commerce hub on the southwest corner of town.
Of the 80 diverse businesses housed in the HBC, 35 opened their doors for intimate sessions with 65 students.
“We’re bringing career day to the office.” – Greg Dell’Aquila
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Realtor Laura Ana Knecht of Knecht Properties asked several of the high school students who were hoping for professional sports careers to act out cold calls of “For Sale By Owner” listings.
“Hello, this is Tareek from Knecht Properties,” said junior Tareek Montague, who also aspires to be an actor.
Knecht told the students that the person on the other end of the phone can actually hear their smile. “You have to sound like wherever you’re at is where where everybody wants to be at,” she said.
She was accompanied by Thomas Blanche, senior loan officer for PNC Mortgage. Along with stressing the importance of keeping good credit, Blanche told the students some of the best reasons to get involved in real estate. “I don’t have a boss, and the income potential is unlimited,” he said.
“How many people want to be their own boss?” Knecht asked to an office full of hands raised.
Office space
“It’s like career day on steroids,” said Greg Dell’Aquila, the young Hoboken-born businessman who operates the family-owned business center. Dell’Aquila is the former president of the Hoboken Rotary Club and helped organize the event to put the kids into the work environment.
“We’re bringing career day to the office building,” he said as the event kicked off Tuesday morning under a tent in the parking lot.
Motivational speaker and author Gary Tuerark told the students a quick story about going from being an extremely slow reader in school to learning how to speed read. He stressed the power of positive thought, and told them one of his best assets was gullibility, in that he never stopped believing in his goals.
“I believed in possibility,” said Tuerack, who has also packed a 1,600-seat concert hall and has spoken at Harvard University.
He got the kids’ blood moving with a challenge. He offered cash to a volunteer from the audience who was asked to mark a sheet of paper as high as she could jump, then beat that mark and hit a $5 bill. If she out-jumped the $5 bill, then she would be given $10.
The exercise showed the potential for exceeding limitations, if motivated properly.
Tuerack is the founder of the National Society of Leadership and Success, a non-profit organization with an office in the HBC.
Choosing a path
Dr. Cecilia D’Elia, the director of youth services at the high school, said that even though the high school will have its career day this month, the opportunity posed by Dell’Aquila was too good to pass up. Students were given the option of attending.
“This is a great turnout for this class,” D’Elia said.
The event was unique, she said, because it was more interactive than a gym full of tables and brochures. Plus, the students selected which businesses to visit after filling out a personality survey.
“I think they learned a little bit about themselves,” she said.
Get the resume ready
The high school will soon be hosting its seventh annual Junior Prep Day, according to school board Vice President Theresa Minutillo, who started the event years ago. On May 26 from 8:30 a.m. to noon, students and volunteers from the community will discuss resume writing, interview techniques, and what to wear to a first interview. They’ll meet in the Hoboken High gymnasium, Ninth and Clinton streets.
The high school is still looking for volunteers from the community and interested parties should e-mail Dr. D’Elia at cdelia@hoboken.k12.nj.us.
Idea exchange
Dell’Aquila said the idea for his event sprang from the Rotary Club’s Career Shadow Program, which places participating students with professionals in their field of interest. The HBC is owned by Dell’Aquila’s family, which has roots in Hoboken.
Dell’Aquila participated in the sessions with students. Discussing the importance of marketing properties, Dell’Aquila gave junior Brandon Pokhan an empty pie chart and asked him to fill it with ways of marketing a hypothetical new apartment building.
Pokhan filled the chart rather quickly and even added in a potential marketing tool that Dell’Aquila said his staff hadn’t even thought of.
“You thought of that; now I’m going to use it,” Dell’Aquila said.
Looking forward to college, Pokhan discussed his potential future ventures, like being a journalist, a sneaker distributer, or working with his father in the automotive industry.
Dell’Aquila told him to have confidence and echoed Tuerack’s sentiment: Believe.
Timothy J. Carroll may be reached at tcarroll@hudsonreporter.com.