By Adrian Nickerson, ‘25

Staff Writer

Do you like science, technology, engineering and math? Do you dream of someday working in the STEM fields? Or are you like many students, unsure of what you want to do after high school?

Then you should check out the speaker series organized by HHS senior Isma Saleem! Thanks to Isma, we will have guests come in during the day to talk about STEM and other careers about once a month. Administration calls these presentations “in-school field trips.” Teachers can bring down their classes or students can request a permission slip from the main office so they can attend.

Isma came up with the idea for the speaker series last year. “Coming into high school, I stressed a lot about not knowing what I was going to do in the future,” she said. “I didn’t like the lack of security I felt from that.”  After taking Internship class at HHS and talking to others about different careers, Isma had an idea. She approached Mr. Plummer, the HHS Curriculum Director, about organizing speakers she hoped would help others figure out their future plans.

The first presentation was Oct. 1 and featured folks from the medical field, including nurses and acute trauma surgeons. 

One of the guests was Patrica Smith, the Director of Health Services for Hanover Public Schools and a registered nurse. As a nurse, she did great things like working on the cardiac surgery floor. She was also a school nurse before becoming director for the district. She talked about what it has been like since COVID-19 emerged locally in March 2020. She also explained the test and stay program, where students considered close contacts to someone with COVID-19 are tested at school each day instead of sent home for long quarantines. Some advice she had for anyone thinking of becoming a nurse was to work hard, and strive to work even harder.

Another speaker was Dr. Gustavo Bauza, an acute care surgeon who focused on trauma, emergency and critical care. He said his job requires teamwork and a desire to serve your community. No two days are ever the same, he added. If you want to pursue this career, work will become your life. You may miss holidays and family events, he cautioned, so in order to be happy in this profession, you’ll have to really enjoy doing it.  

The next presentation will be Nov. 10 and feature speakers from the computer science and Internet technology industries. If you’re interested, talk to your teacher about bringing your class or, when the date is closer, stop by the main office for a permission slip.