Workplace Tour

On May 24, students from Germantown High School, lead and organized by the Philadelphia Children’s Foundation, embarked upon quite an educational field trip. Three businesses in Center City, Philadelphia opened their doors to students curious about what it is really like in the professional workforce. The thirteen high school students from grades 9-12 were given the opportunity to tour the different work sites, ask questions, and get a clearer understanding of what opportunities may lay ahead of them.

The students’ first stop was at Quality Litigation Services, 1628 JFK Boulevard, and was conducted by owner Angelo Salandra.  Here they learned about project consulting and litigation support along with the daily operations of the business.  Next the kids made their way over to One Liberty Place, at Sixteenth and Market streets. This tour was lead by Charles Pullar, Asset Manager at Cushman & Wakefield, a commercial real estate broker and consultant company.  Mr. Pullar led them through the office high rise to the top floor where they witnessed a stunning view of the entire city.  This was a definite highlight of the trip!  While at Liberty Place, Michele Galasso took them on a walk through of the law office of Kleinbard Bell and Brecker, LLP.  The students gained knowledge on how a law office runs, and answered the student’s questions about what it takes to prepare for a profession as an attorney. 

Many of the students who joined us on the workplace tour also participated in Career Clubs, a monthly meeting set up to give kids the information they need for college and career preparation.  The kids loved the exposure they got to real life work environments, whatever their interests or ambitions were.  The Philadelphia Children’s Foundation is continuing this project at Germantown high school and will also be branching out to other schools in the Philadelphia area in an effort to expose kids to as many different work settings as possible. 

This is a great opportunity for any company who is interested in getting involved with the educational support of young people in the community.  All students have varying interests, so it is most beneficial to provide a range of workplaces to host tours.  If you are interested in hosting a tour at your place of work, please contact Tia Diggs at: tdiggs@philadelphiachildrensfoundation.org.  And to learn more about Career Clubs you can read this month’s newsletter article entitled ‘Career Clubs’.

What better way for high school kids to get inspired about reaching their post graduate goals then to allow them to get a taste of where hard work and perseverance can lead them!