On Wednesday, January 4, Dana Hall welcomed six alumnae to Dana’s fifth annual Middle School Career Day. The alumnae spoke to sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students about their experiences in school and the workplace. Tracy Spiegel Fox ’96, founder of FoxCraft, Laurel Kagan ’04, Candidate for Master of Science in Nursing from Vanderbilt University, Kat Lafferty ’02, Genetic Counselor, Emily Ostroff ’04, Team Leader for AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps, Alyssa Rotman ’03, Designer at Payette Associates, and Jane Monti Young ’98, Art Gallery Director and Owner, spoke to the students about their careers.                    

The alumnae shared stories and anecdotes from their professional journeys that the students may be able to relate to someday. All of the speakers told the Middle School students to take their time when choosing a career and not to worry if they change their minds about what profession interests them.

Students spent 25 minutes with each alumna. Tracy Spiegel Fox ’96 told them, “What you think you want to do now may not be what you end up doing. “You will find a way to incorporate the things you love to do into a profession. Don’t be scared if your dreams change daily.” After earning her undergraduate and master’s degrees from Boston College, Tracy was prepared to take over her parents’ printing company. It was not until after graduation that Tracy became interested in a different career. While she always enjoyed event planning, Tracy discovered her passion for cooking after making recipes from magazines. She then veered off the path she thought she was destined for, enrolled in Cambridge School of Culinary Arts, and started her personal catering company. After providing craft services to a local commercial, Tracy and her husband established FoxCraft which offers craft services for large scale commercials, movies and television shows in New England.

Emily Ostroff ’04  is working in a completely different field: community service. When Emily graduated from Earlham College in 2009 she was unsure of what she wanted to do professionally. With her passion for  hands-on projects in mind, Emily became a City Year Corps member, coordinating service days for groups including Dana Hall’s 2011 Amor Caritas Day. Emily stressed the importance of feeling fulfilled in your job, which for her means the satisfaction of giving back to the community she lives in through the service projects she organizes. “When choosing your career, find things you are excited about,” advised Emily.

After the morning presentations, Career Day continued with current parent Kelly Benkert P15, 17 sharing her professional story of being a former captain in the Army.

“Each of the alumnae who presented at Career Day has a unique career and interesting story,” said Assistant to Alumnae Relations and Annual Giving Meg MacSwan. “It was an exciting day filled with positive messages about finding professional passion. We are appreciative of the time dedicated to this program by some amazing young alumnae.”