Posted January 27, 2014

Villa Maria Academy High School, Malvern, students will discover a number of new career options Jan. 31 when the school welcomes 20 alumnae presenters and special guest Victoria Wyeth for the annual Career Day.

“We want to expand awareness about non-traditional career options for women,” event organizer and Director of Guidance Cheryl Leonhardt said. “We want the students to benefit from the alumnae’s knowledge and experience as well as begin to build their professional connections.”

The school will welcome professionals from a variety of fields, including healthcare, electrical engineering, communications and entrepreneurial business. The professions were selected through a survey of all students to see what fields each grade was most interested in.

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Each class will rotate between five presentations in the morning. The half-hour sessions will be an informative presentation followed by open discussions about how each alumna chose her career and educational path. Each will also share a few tips with students about what they would do differently or how they see their field changing.

Then art students will get a unique opportunity when they break for lunch to share a meal with Victoria Wyeth. Following lunch, she will speak to the entire student body about her career, the Wyeth family and the video that will be shown after her presentation, “Self-Portrait-Snow Hill by Andrew Wyeth.”

“We are always looking for opportunities to expose students to a variety of experiences in the fine arts,” Fine Arts Department Chairwoman Joyce Prichard said. “I heard Ms. Wyeth speak locally about her grandfather, Andrew Wyeth, and the program was fascinating. I am thrilled that she was so willing to come and talk with our students. This is a marvelous opportunity for them to learn about a local family of well-known artists.”

Villa Maria prepares girls for college and beyond in the tradition of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. At the private Catholic high school, students are taught to be critical thinkers and confident leaders. The young ladies pursue a course of study intended to continually reinforce analytical problem-solving skills, high-level thinking, and increasingly independent work.

Villa Maria empowers young women to lead lives of spiritual growth, intellectual inquiry and Christian service. For more information visit the website www.vmahs.org.