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| Above: From left, Tanya Thompson, violations officer, Parking Administration, Campus Services & Business Operations, and her daughter Keitara Anglin; Chinaka McIntosh; Gerald Abaca, with his mom Vicki Abaca, budget coordinator, Office of Budgets & Planning |
It was another successful Take Our Kids to Work Day at York, judging by the crowd who stopped by for the annual pizza lunch Wednesday. A roomful of hungry Grade 9 students and their parents who work at York enjoyed a day of programmed activities and visits to the Keele campus to see what the work world is like.
Left: Gary Brewer welcomes Grade 9 students to York
“Take Our Kids to Work Day is a significant initiative, and one which we obviously support at York,” said Gary Brewer, vice-president finance & administration, in welcoming the students. “I know this from personal experience,” he said, adding that in past years the event had included all three of his children, two of whom also attended York.
“I hope you have a good day here…watching the workplace – hopefully in action – and I hope some of you got a chance to see the admissions section and find out a little bit more about York.”
“I saw that there are a lot of options,” said Melissa Kennedy, daughter of Elisa Kennedy, production assistant in York’s Marketing & Communications Division. “I saw the libraries and how many books there are and how they have a lot of places you can go and study.” Melissa said she hopes to write children’s books and possibly become a teacher.
“I found out my mum does a lot,” said Anthony D’Addona, son of Bonnie D’Addona, executive assistant in Marketing & Communications. A drummer with plans to enrol in the Faculty of Fine Arts, Anthony said he is looking at a career in music. “I’ve experienced it before with my father and I like it, so I’m interested in musical arts programs and the production side of things.”
Right: Steve Dranitsaris with his daughter Julie (left) and friend Andrea Oriente
Julie Dranitsaris, daughter of Steve Dranitsaris, senior executive officer in the Office of the Vice-President Finance & Administration, was a bit lost for words about her day’s experience but admitted her dad looked very busy. Although she said she plans to attend York, she still hasn’t decided yet what she wants to study – a process that Take Our Kids to Work Day is intended to kick-start.
Her friend, Andrea Oriente, who says she is looking at studying psychology, journalism or marine biology, was impressed with the size of York’s Keele campus – and the fact it has a mall.
Each year, York organizes additional activities for the students, including an orientation session in the Senate Chamber and a campus tour, organized by the Admissions Office. Representatives discussed the kind of work that is done in the admissions area and briefly talked about university study and the programs offered at York.
Left: From left, Agostino Perrone, father of Michelangelo’s Restaurant owner Attilio Perrone, and staff member Concentta Mazone, serve up a pizza lunch for the visiting students
A tour of the Keele campus followed, giving students the opportunity to visit different buildings on campus and to observe activities in each of them. The tour’s final destination was Michelangelo’s Restaurant in the Atkinson Building, for a pizza lunch sponsored by the Office of the Vice-President Finance & Administration.
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| Above: From left, Karen Furlonge, manager of business systems (advancement & reporting) in University Information Technology, with her daughter Janae Diaz; and Monica Perot, manager of circulation & reserve in Osgoode Hall Law School’s Law Library, with her granddaughter Chenique Taylor-Timothy |
For Michelangelo’s manager Attilio Perrone, it was more like “take your parent to work day” as his father Agostino dropped by to help serve up the pizza and lend a hand with the more than 100 students who came by with their parents.
Take Our Kids to Work Day is an initiative of The Learning Partnership. For more information, visit the organization’s TOKW page.