VICTORVILLE — From Marines to makeup artists, attorneys to aircraft mechanics, a wide variety of careers were on display for students at Victor Valley High School’s recent College and Career Day.

Approximately 80 speakers attended the event, giving students a chance to choose two different presentations depending on their college or career interests. Among the presenters were local radio personality Colleen Quinn, several San Bernardino County Sheriff’s deputies, paramedics, firefighters, nurses, tattoo and piercing artists, military personnel from all four major branches, college representatives, and many more.

“Preparing students for life after high school is our number one purpose as a school district, and an event like this is a great way to familiarize them with different pathways,” said Victor Valley Union High School District Superintendent Carl Coles, who toured the campus and watched some of the speakers during the event. “The VVHS staff has done a great job reaching out to so many community members and bringing them together to give the kids an up-close look at what they do.”

One of the speakers was former High Desert resident Gil Romero, an experienced film and television makeup artist whose work has been featured on shows such as “America’s Next Top Model”, “Prison Break”, “Scrubs”, “The Shield” and many others. He’s now the Associate Director of Education for Make-up Designory (MUD) schools as well as the director of MUD’s Burbank campus. 

“From the moment I walked onto campus, I felt welcomed and humbled to be among the scores of career professionals who were invited to share with the VVHS students,” Romero said. “I hope my experience provided some insight into the work of a makeup artist and the expanding opportunities there are for makeup artists in fashion, commercial, film, television and streaming media platforms.”

In addition to the school staff who helped run the event, a group of AVID students helped guide the speakers to their classrooms, and students served up breakfast items prepared by the VVHS culinary program. This was VVHS’s third College and Career Day event. 

“Today was indeed an amazing opportunity for our students,” said VVHS Assistant Principal Jessica Swift, who took the lead in organizing the event. “We had an overwhelming number of community members and leaders shower our students with wisdom, support, and direction on all the opportunities they have after high school. It was an exceptional example of building actionable relationships between the classroom and our community.” 

PHOTOS

TOP: California Department of Corrections Officers Jose Manrriquez, left, and Lupe Gutierrez pose with their specialized detection dogs at Victor Valley High School. The officers took part in the school’s College and Career Day last week.

MIDDLE: Victor Valley High School students served breakfast prepared by the school’s culinary program at VVHS’ College and Career Day last week.

BOTTOM: From left to right: Victor Valley High School Assistant Principal Jessica Swift, makeup artist Gil Romero, U.S. Marine Sgt. Padilla, IT Marketing expert Brian Hatchell, and VVHS Counselor Samantha Lillard pose after the school’s College and Career Day last week.