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ST & B welcomes East-West. From Law firm field trip 2-9-11

In collaboration with New Visions, 25 randomly selected 11th graders were invited to participate in a day-long series of panels and workshops focused on career and college readiness. The workshops were hosted by law professionals at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, one of the most renowned global law firms.

Students were given a tour of the firm and treated to breakfast and lunch. Fifteen professionals volunteered their time to speak to our group about their educational and work experiences. Here is a sample of the advice they gave to our juniors:

• "Learn to be personally invested in your own success."
• "Use all your resources, especially when looking for money for college."
• "You don't need to rush your decisions when you're young. Explore new interests and be open to changing your mind."
• "Learn how to manage your time, because there won't be teachers or parents who will help you be on time or manage your work."

Anthoulla Themistokleous asked, "What personally motivated you to go to college, besides everyone just telling you to go?" Their answers included:

• "You can lose your house or your job, but no one can take your education away from you. You can use your education to start over."
• "I looked up to successful adults and they all had gone to college."
• "College is an opportunity to challenge and grow your mind. It will prepare you for the rest of your life."
• "I realized that there is so much more that I wanted to learn about."

One panelist replied, "What do you love to do? How do you want to do it? Have a plan either way."

The students reported that the day was "very eye-opening." Most of the panelists did not know they wanted to do law when they were younger; many of them had different interests, such as medicine or teaching, and changed their mind to pursue law later in life.

One student said, "I'm glad that colleges care about seeing improvement, not just getting perfect grades every semester. I'm going to keep pulling my grades up and keep them up for senior year."

If you were one of the students who went on the trip, please leave a comment and tell us a bit about what you thought of the experience.

From one end of the 7 line to the other. From Law firm field trip 2-9-11

Students were given a tour of the firm. From Law firm field trip 2-9-11

When asked to give their best boardroom executive faces... From Law firm field trip 2-9-11

A day-long series of panels and discussions on college and career readiness. From Law firm field trip 2-9-11

Thank you to SImpson Thacher & Bartlett for such a great experience for our students. From Law firm field trip 2-9-11