Lesson One: Smell everything that comes into the restaurant.
Lesson Two: Always stick to your morals.
Lesson Three: Have fun.
These lessons, and thousands more, were imparted to the students of Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School during the school’s 15th annual Career Partnership Day that was held Thursday. The day provided juniors and seniors at the school with the opportunity to shadow professionals in the Bethesda area during an average day at work.
Students tagged along with police officers, lawyers, chefs and hair stylists. They learned what they may want to pursue as a career, and just as important, maybe what they did not want to pursue.
‘‘I was hoping to go into law, and this just made up my mind,” said Emily Becker, a junior at the school, after spending a morning at the Montgomery County Office of the Public Defender in Rockville. ‘‘[The office] made it seem like something I would enjoy.”
The event is a collaborative effort between the school, the Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce and Junior Achievement, a Colorado nonprofit that helps students prepare for careers.
According to Diana Kirtley, B-CC internship coordinator, 115 students participated this year, totaling 2,800 students over the past 15 years, including students from Walter Johnson and Walt Whitman high schools. She added that Bethesda-Chevy Chase is the only high school in the county to send students out into the workplace, as opposed to having a career fair at the school.
‘‘This is our future work force, and we need to show them what’s out there,” said Ginanne Italiano, chamber president. ‘‘This helps them find the direction they may want to go in.”
The students visited more than 30 locations, including Pumphrey’s Funeral Home, Imagination Stage and Bethesda Elementary School.
At the Office of the Public Defender, students met with lawyers to discuss everything from ethics to bail hearings. They heard tales of murder cases and put themselves in the shoes of a judge trying to determine the bond for an armed robbery.
Students also trailed chefs at Blacks Bar and Kitchen in downtown Bethesda, learning about charcuteries — meat shops — and the best way to cut blood oranges.
Sous chefs and pastry chefs offered the students a glimpse into the not-so-glamorous life of working in a restaurant.
‘‘They stand on their feet for 10 or 12 hours straight,” said Alex Cole, a 16-year-old junior from Chevy Chase. ‘‘I’ve been on mine for only about three and it already feels good to sit down.”
The students said watching the restaurant during a lunch rush gave them a new appreciation for eating. They watched chefs drizzle salad dressing on a plate before even plating the greens, and were awed by chefs who cleaned the edges of every plate before it was delivered to the customer.
‘‘I’m definitely never going to send something back at a restaurant,” said Claire Bateman, an 18-year-old senior from Chevy Chase. ‘‘So much goes into putting out every single plate.”
For the professionals involved, the day is also a learning experience.
‘‘It’s nice to see their perspectives on a dish, how it looks, whether they like it or not,” said Mallory Buford, executive chef at Blacks, who participated for the second year. ‘‘Sometimes we just get so caught up [in the kitchen] we begin to overlook things.”
