By Lou Ponsi

Ladera Ranch Middle School hosted its annual career day recently, with professionals from a spectrum of the workforce – teachers, firefighters, nurses and physicians, to name a few – visited eighth-grade classrooms to share the specifics of their jobs with students, including the skills and education needed to get there.

Students learned about careers they may never have heard of, and learned about pathways to careers they may have otherwise thought unattainable. For example, Kyle Missbach spoke about his work as a foreign service officer (otherwise known as a diplomat) with the Department of State.

“I saw an opportunity when the request came out to share some of my experiences of my career with this great community and great school and kids. I don’t always get the chance to do that because I spend most of my time overseas,” Missbach said. “I tell (the students) what I do to advance U.S. interests overseas to protect American citizens and help American citizens abroad.”

Missbach and his family have lived in Mexico, Germany, Zambia and Afghanistan. Missbach is back in Orange County preparing to work toward a Master’s Degree in Foreign Diplomacy at Chapman University.

“One thing I think that is important is that my career is in service to our country, and I think giving kids some exposure to that idea at a young age is good so they can think about those opportunities. The foreign service in particular is one that is not often thought about,” Missbach said.

Ladera Ranch counselors begin sending requests to the community months ago, asking professionals to visit classrooms to share about their careers, said Teri Graffeo, one of three Ladera Ranch counselors who organized career day.

“A lot of (the students) don’t have exposure to different types of jobs,” Graffeo said. “We really are hoping to show a variety of opportunities. We’re looking for a balance of men and women.”

Ariel Frankeny fielded plenty of questions from students when she shared about her career overseeing Creative and Marketing Operations for “Haus Labs by Lady Gaga,” a makeup line that is vegan and cruelty free. As the name suggests, the company was founded and is owned by Lady Gaga.

Students eagerly asked what Lady Gaga is like in person.

“She is very, very sweet and very, very kind,” Frankeny said. “I get a lot of questions on how we come up with products, how we sell the products … all the cogs and wheels that are running in the background.”

Other professionals who participated in the Feb. 23 Ladera Ranch Career Day were well-known music composer and producer Adam Gubman, and Katy Helen, a San Clemente artist known for transforming surfboards into glassed mirror mosaic masterpieces. Other participants included FBI agents, a sports agent, a jiu-jitsu instructor and two pilots.

Rene Wagner, a female pilot for UPS, talked about being in a field largely dominated by men. In fact, some students guessed Wagner was a flight attendant, not a pilot. When sharing about her career with students, Wagner always makes a point to talk about becoming a pilot, despite growing up in a family with limited means.

“I got a job at Dairy Queen at 15 and started making sundaes and I started paying for flying lessons,” Wagner said. “My family didn’t come from a lot. I had to make it happen. I think that story is important to the younger ones. It was important to get it across that they want women to become pilots. It is important because this is how we change things, by education and letting people know that it is changing.”

As part of an English assignment, the eighth graders were instructed to write thank you notes for each of the 29 speakers.

“It was really good to know that this is where we can end up,” eighth grader Tessa Croxton said. “Everyone has a path that is made for them and if you stick to that path, that is where you can go. I don’t know 100 percent what I’m going to do but listening to all these people, I can figure out where I can go.”

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