“These first couple years are about expansion, not narrowing,” said Calhoun. Although the pressure is on students from many sides — possibly parents, guidance counselors, college admissions departments and so forth — to make a choice of career early, Calhoun urged the students to keep an open mind and find what they're talented at. 

Asked by one student about driverless cars and coming technology, Calhoun, who serves on the board of directors at Boeing, said while technology grows by leaps and bounds, “Our biggest challenge is to create minds that consider all the social  ramifications of the technology.”

After the assembly the students, grades six through 12, spread out to listen to speakers of their choice. 

Alicia Pedemonti, a veterinary technician, told the students, “Most of what I do is protect human health.” 

Although they might assume vet techs always work in small animal hospitals, for Pedemonti that is not the case. “I'm on the road every day,” she said. 

During a typical day Pedemonti is visiting farms, monitoring the health of large animals like pigs and cows, making sure they're healthy and the human food supply is safe. 

Speaker George Neuwirt said, “There's an alternative to the college part.” 

Neuwirt, who runs his own construction company, told them reality is far different than the impression they might get of pop stars and billionaires. “That's such a small percentage of the population, it's not really reality. Everything is too glamorized.

“Very soon, electrician's rates are going to be similar to lawyers,” said Neuwirt. “I have an electrician who only works part time because he loves hunting and fishing; he's always texting me photos of his latest trip. He makes $350,000 a year and works part time.

“I'm trying to raise awareness,” he continued. “There's a crisis in this country with not enough workers in the trades. I heard of a woman who had a three-month wait to get her boiler cleaned. Not even fixed, just cleaned.

“Getting dirty on a daily basis can be very rewarding, and very profitable,” said Neuwirt.

Sous chef Keith Girard said he loves the “craziness of 7 o'clock Friday night,” when the restaurant is full. “The best part of my job is when people light up and go, 'Oh my God, this tastes so good.'” 

Girard said he was a “theater nerd” in high school, and those talents have come into play in restaurant work. “The culinary industry's a lot of fun.” 

Down the hall, Robert Zenner and Colby Wood from Hypertherm described their jobs and the company they work for. Hypertherm is an employee-owned company, said Wood. At the end of the year the profits are shared among the employees, generally according to their pay grade. Hypertherm designs and manufactures advanced cutting and gouging products, including plasma cutting and gouging systems.

In another room, Scott Flint, who runs the Aerospace and Defense Group in Corning Incorporated, described some of the high-tech devices Corning produces, such as the glass nose cones on missiles. “The nice thing about engineering,” he said, “is you can really go anywhere.” 

Two officers from the Sunapee Police Department, Lt. Neill Cobb and Officer Noah Gooch, talked about training for the job at the Cadet Academy. 

“Our job is an awesome responsibility,” said Cobb. “We have the authority to take somebody's freedom away. Upholding the Constitution, upholding the laws of the land, that's our responsibility. We also pick up lost dogs. We also give directions.” 

Cobb said he likes that every day on his job is different. 

Matt McNally, a respiratory therapist, said this was his second visit for Career Day. “Unlike nursing, people don't generally hear about respiratory therapists until they need one,” he said. 

The field has a high vacancy rate — 20 percent — especially in this region, said McNally. “Really, health care in general has a high vacancy rate,” he said. He's gone to several similar events to introduce students to the field. 

McNally's presentation was one of the most hands-on opportunities for the students, as he brought in a mannequin for practice procedures, as well as a breathing monitor and a set of pig's lungs. The students practiced inserting a breathing tube into the mannequin's mouth and airway. 

Did he ever hear of a student deciding to become a respiratory therapist after his presentation? 

“It's hard to tell,” he said. “I hope so.”