From finance and engineering to sports management and social media, teens from cities across the U.S. and military installations around the globe explored a variety of businesses and trades during Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s inaugural Virtual Career Day.

Career Day was part of Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Workforce Readiness strategy to prepare young people to meet the workforce challenges of tomorrow. From an early age through high school, supportive Club mentors provide opportunities for youth to explore careers and build employability skills for future success. Clubs also connect teens to real-life work experiences like internships and first jobs.

During the two-hour event, youth heard from a panel of professionals representing Toyota Financial Services, The Coca-Cola Company, Behavioral Health TeleMedicine, Bridgestone, Major League Baseball, Old Navy, and Thermo Fisher Scientific. The professionals shared their career journeys, the role of mentorship in building a career, helpful education and coursework, and other important highlights of their careers. When offering advice to Career Day participants, the panel reminded teens to think differently, be courageous, strive for excellence and offer new perspectives.

Following the panel, teens participated in breakout sessions for specific industries that align with their interests and passions. In addition to companies represented during the panel, the breakout sessions included professionals from AmerisourceBergen, Bank of America, Citi, the Cleveland Browns, and National Retail Federation Foundation.

Career Day concluded with a question-and-answer session with Rafael Ilishayev, co-founder of goPuff, a fast-growing delivery service for everyday essentials. Rafael shared lessons on entrepreneurship and growing a business.

Boys & Girls Clubs of America cannot address the nation’s workforce needs alone. With the support of industry, nonprofit, government and education partners, BGCA is identifying solutions and strategies to level the playing field for millions of young people across America.

Learn more about Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Workforce Readiness programs.