Straying from the previously practiced “track” approach to Career Day, the National Technical Honor Society under adviser Kelly Harmon, changed the format of the event to allow each individual student to select presentations tailored to their interests.

NTHS annually hosts Career Day in support of its career-oriented core beliefs, with this year’s event taking place on Feb. 27. Every year, the club competes in conjunction with its sister program, SkillsUSA, in state and national competitions that showcase each member’s career and technical capabilities.

In years past, each class would go from session to session on a predetermined track, but over the past few years, students have complained about “missing the presentations that they would most resonate with and had the most to learn from,” NTHS vice president and senior Olivia Reizer of Wall said. The club altered its approach in response to this feedback.

Before Career Day began, both SkillsUSA and NTHS club members, including NTHS secretary senior Laura Gleason of Ocean, said that they were a bit wary of the students’ freedom to choose their sessions.

“I am a little nervous since it is a risk to take,” Gleason said before the event.

Harmon agreed.

“There are a few students that could abuse the privilege to be on their own and choose their own sessions, but I think overall if teachers are monitoring the sessions and have teachers in the hallway it should be a successful day,” she said.

Harmon’s prediction was accurate according to freshman Alex Paredes of Atlantic Highlands who attested that she enjoyed the freely moving setup of Career Day.

“I really liked Ed Mislavsky. He was pretty cool because he worked on Disney projects and Disney theme parks, things I knew about, and it was cool to see how he got there,” Paredes said.

The club members and Harmon were also satisfied with the turnout of the event.

“With the new tracks and organization, I think it went really well. I think students were way more engaged in the day and wanting to hear from professionals they were interested in,” Harmon said.

Junior Mike Ryan of Neptune City also enjoyed the new setup for Career Day.

“I liked Career Day better this year because last year there were many presenters that I missed and would have liked to see. I like that I at least had the chance to see who I wanted to this year,” Ryan said.