Monday, May 19, 2025
Federal, state and county employers gathered to educate students about job opportunities for Uniondale High School’s Career Day.
Shawn Brown, principal of Uniondale High School, sees Career Day as an opportunity for the students of Uniondale to become better acquainted with work in a variety of industries and colleges, including Molloy University and Hofstra University.
“We’re noticing that the more that we have these opportunities, students start to speak a little bit differently when they talk about what’s available for them,” Brown said at the April 4 event.
The career day program is designed to offer the district’s over 6,000 students a path to start considering future careers no matter their interests. Uniondale High has made a concerted effort to offer programs that give students as many options as possible, including sports, music and medical programs.
“One of the things that we heard from our students and our parents is that even though college is very important, the children want access to careers,” Monique Darrisaw-Akil, Uniondale school district superintendent said. “They want to see what are the different types of careers that are available to them, so we’ve been doing career workshops and bringing people to the school district.”
“We’re having a day that’s an immersive experience where they get to meet people in all different fields: technical fields, law enforcement, city government and county government,” Darrisaw-Akil said. “It really just lets them know that the possibilities are endless.”
County Executive Bruce Blakeman visited the school to speak to students about the career opportunities that the county offers.
“We’re really excited that we have partnership from our county executive’s office, who has been a strong partner to us throughout the years, particularly in the area of workforce development,” Darrisaw-Akil said.
Outreach to young people is an important way of keeping them in Nassau County, Blakeman said.
“We are the most desirable place to live in all of New York State, and that’s because of you, your families and your contributions to Nassau County that makes Nassau County such a great place,” he said. “I want you to consider this as a place where you want to live, start a career, maybe start a family, because we’ve got so many great things.”
Blakeman encouraged students to consider a career in Nassau County’s law enforcement divisions, citing the value of serving local communities and the position’s benefits, such as a pension, high salary and healthcare.
“Come in and you can take a test for one of these positions,” he said to the students. “I’ll tell you these are very, very rewarding careers; not only are you helping your community, but it’s something that you feel good about each and every day.”
Showing what law enforcement can offer, a Nassau County police helicopter did a flyby of the school and landed in its front yard, overseen by Police Commissioner Ryder.
Angela Maynor, principal court analyst of the 10th judicial district of Nassau County, was operating one of the career stands in the school.
“I’m in the department of community outreach, where we go out into the community and promote jobs within the boards, opportunities and career pathways,” Maynor said.
“I think they’re the next generation coming into the workforce,” she continued. “We want to provide other career pathways if they decide they are not ready to go into college, or they may want to go college in the evening and work in the day. So it just gives them another pathway into a really great career.”
