Kyriakos is a 2nd grade high school student at a small school in Kalampaki, Drama. As he explains at the beginning of our discussion, with just around 60 students, the general atmosphere at the school is very pleasant, allowing for open communication and close relationships with the teachers and the school principal. “We get along, and the school activities are more fun and different”, he says characteristically.
Kyriakos has chosen the sciences orientation group and would like to study aircraft mechanical engineering. Ηe already enjoys engaging in related activities and repairing motorcycles by himself. Although time is tight due to the extensive studying for the panhellenic exams, he likes to hang out with his friends in his free time.
The first time Kyriakos and his classmates participated at the program, the purpose was for the students to learn about the program's implementation and get a first glimpse. To achieve this, their teachers decided to introduce them to professionals from various well-known fields in the local community. As he narrates, they spoke with an agronomist, since many residents in their area are involved in agriculture. What impressed Kyriakos and his classmates was that even when it came to professions they already knew about, there were new aspects they discovered through their discussions with the mentors. Referring to a live group session with the agronomist, he explains, "Because we already knew the profession itself, what impressed the whole class was seeing how it could evolve differently. We saw an agronomist who didn't just focus on local crops like corn and tomatoes. She had planted many acres with aromatic plants, created a website, processed them, and sold them. We saw a different approach to the profession”.
As the students continued participating in the program, they were able to explore other professional fields, all the more related to their interests. Kyriakos approached the educator responsible for the implementation of the program at his school and specifically asked to talk to an aircraft mechanical engineer,and, before long, a pertinent session was scheduled. This mentor had started his career in the military, as Kyriakos would like to do, but later chose to follow a different path within the field, an unknown option to the young student until then. Through this group session, he and his classmates were able to learn more about the aspects and prospects of this profession, which they were unaware of. He explains that this helped him understand that this is indeed a career path he likes. “We asked him if he could describe his job to us, and among what he described were physics, which I like very much, and drafting, which I will have as a mechanical engineer”.
Another session that impressed Kyriakos was held with a chemical engineer, requested by other classmates interested in this field. The mentor highlighted many different sectors where a chemical engineer can work and spoke about his experience working in the industry. The session had a significant impact on Kyriakos' classmates, who either became more positively oriented toward this field or reconsidered this choice and left open the possibility of an alternative career path.
Another session that Kyriakos commemorated was about Artificial Intelligence. The mentor, working in the field of IT and AI, spoke in great detail and explained things to the students. As Kyriakos stated, although the topic was relatively unknown and somewhat confusing, it was nice because they learned something new.
Both Kyriakos and his classmates were able to get a more comprehensive picture of the various fields they were interested in. Students who had a general idea of what they might like to pursue were particularly helped as they got to learn more about the relevant field, got a more realistic picture, and either rejected their choice or ended up liking it even more, thus pursuing it with greater confidence. Concluding, Kyriakos spoke about the mentors and shared that they were always very receptive to receiving questions and answering any queries while always speaking in detail about how the studies would be like and what evolvement one can have in whatever field they choose.
He hopes to study Aircraft Mechanical Engineering in the military and to specialize over time in specific aircraft.
