Students Meet Mentors, Garner Career Advice in Summer Job Shadows

People on CCDS parent Dr. Viral Jain’s staff at Children’s Hospital Orthopedics clinic kept mistaking Reed Horton `25 for a medical student, especially after he observed three hours of surgery without feeling woozy. “The college kids were fainting, but I thought it was awesome,” he says.

Val Benitez `24 put in nine hours a day during a three-day job shadow at EY, joining CCDS parent Jeremy Vaughan on everything from Zoom calls with international clients to one-on-one meetings with CEOs to a Cintrifuse board meeting with Cincinnati business leaders. “It was really fun,” says Benitez. “I saw people in cool roles that I might like to do.”

Sarah Fu `25 was excited to see the relationship between graphic design and marketing during her shadow at Jurgenson Companies. “I like art, and I didn’t realize it was as interconnected with marketing as it is,” she says. Ayla Daoud `26 “loved every second” of her job shadow at CCDS parent Dr. Khurram Khan’s oral surgery practice, where she observed wisdom teeth removal, dental implants, and root canals. When Dr. Kahn used lab-grown tissue in surgery “it was cool to see how advanced medicine has become.”

Country Day students had these experiences and more last summer as part of our CCDXperiences Job Shadow Program. Students in the program see firsthand what it is like to work in a field that interests them. They garner advice about college and careers from parent and alumni hosts and learn early the value of networking. Country Day is eager to expand the program. For a list of recent experiences or to offer a job shadow or internship to Country Day Students, click here.

The experiences immediately expand students’ understanding of work. “It allowed me to see that being a doctor is so much bigger than performing surgery and making a lot of money,” says Horton. “Dr. Jain is changing the lives of real people. I used to want to win a Nobel Prize, but I can see that you can change the world in much smaller ways. It’s so fulfilling.”

Both hosts and students enjoy getting to know each other. “Dr. Khan was amazing,” says Daoud. “He gave me so many tips about my future. He told me what kinds of extracurriculars stand out on medical school applications. And he told me it’s ok if you’re not getting 100% in every class. If you’re determined, you can do anything.”

Val Benitez called Mr. Vaughen “a great guy. I loved working with him.” For his part, Vaughan was “very impressed. Val belied her years in terms of her ability to understand both the business content and context, and also in her ability to read the room. I look forward to hearing how she gets on in the future!”

For students wishing to participate in the program for summer 2024, applications will open in March.