Future Forward Career Exploration Teacher Guide

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Future Forward Career

Exploration: Teacher Guide
Navigating this document
Introduction to Future Forward

The Future Forward Panel Series was designed to encourage students to start “practicing
imagination” with their career possibilities. Primarily, it served as an exploration into Educational
Technology careers and the paths NYC’s Summer Youth Employment (SYEP) participants can take
toward their future selves.
However the information within this series is invaluable and SYEP participants expressed a need
within schools to share the series at a larger scale so that panel attendees would not be the only
ones learning from Tech Leaders. Thus, this guide was born.
Use this guide to plan an enriching, career-focused learning experience for your students. You can
find
★ Links to Future Forward Summary Posts
○ Following these links, you will also find an embedded video to rewatch the panel
either individually or as a class.
★ Printable Future Forward Summaries to directly share hard copies with students
as well
○ Deep-Thinking Questions and Answer Spaces
■ If the provided questions do not fit your classroom context. Please
feel free to make changes as necessary.
■ Please Note **
If something is in purple, students are invited to consider the question,
and then erase the bracketed [Text Here] to add their ideas.
● A bulleted space with [Text Here] asks for a short answer
● A square block with [Text Here] asks for a longer answer
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Panels
Future Forward Panel 1: Spotlight on the NYC DOE’s Division
of Instructional and Information Technology
★ Blog Post With Video
○ Following this links, you will find the panel summary along with an embedded
video to rewatch the panel either individually or as a class.
★ Printable and/or Editable Summary & Questionnaire
Brief Summary:
2020 was a year like no other and its effect was felt on schools for the following year and a half.
As a result, Ed Tech and the Department of Ed’s DIIT came rushing into the spotlight. This
series’ kickoff panel began with four DIIT representatives sharing a little about their careers and
journeys. Panelists included:
★ Ed Tech Programs, CS for All with Maria Tucker
★ Educational Technology with Anthony Cassanovas & Maria Tucker
★ Digital Accessibility with Laura Ogando
★ Product Development with Zeeshan Anwar
BEFORE, Preparation Questions:

★ Questions for students to consider in preparation for this panel.
○ What kind of technology have you used in your school journeys? What sort
of people do you think are responsible for bringing that technology to your
hands?
○ In the career world, we have “hard skills” and “soft skills”. What do you
think these terms mean and can you offer any examples of your own?
○ What do you imagine your own academic and career success will look like?
★ Resources
○ Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills
○ EdSurge: So You Want to Work in EdTech?
○ Educational Technology Specialist Career Guide
○ 36 Edtech Companies Changing the Way We Learn
○ Career Vision: Careers of the Future
■ *Take a look at what they say under education!
○ NYS Education Department: Educational Technology Specialist
Certification
DURING, Video Tips:

★ Set Question Breakdown and Time Stamp
○ Who are you? Introduce yourself and tell us what types of problems your
role at DIIT solves.
■ Time Stamp:
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■ Pause here to ask students “Which one, out of the four DIIT panelists,
jumps out at you as having a career you’d like to investigate?”
○ What journey did you take to arrive at your career?

■ Tell us about two pivotal moments on your career journey and one
moment that was a challenge.
■ Time Stamp:
■ Pause here to ask students, “What do the panelists’ journeys tell you
about where your own career path might take you in the future?”
○ What’s the most important job skill you use and what skill do you value
most in colleagues?
■ Time Stamp:
■ Pause here to ask students, “In our careers there are “hard skills” that
often take months and years of practice to master, such as coding or a
language, and “soft skills” that are developed in various ways, like
organization. Did the skills panelists’ mention fall more toward hard or
soft? What does this tell you? ”
○ How do you take care of your personal wellness and what do you hope to
do more of? What would you change?
■ What is one wellness shift that you are grateful you started?
■ Time Stamp:
■ Pause here to ask students, “What wellness habits are you developing as
a student that you want to take with you into your adult careers?”
★ Q&A Breakdown and Time Stamp

The Q&A section can be an opportunity to further develop critical thinking about the
panelists’ responses, or it can be a chance for you to ask students to develop their own
questions that they would ask. After developing them, students can explore online for
different answers.
○ How much money do you make and how can we check the pay for different
job positions at the DOE? Any tips on salary negotiation?
■ Time Stamp:
■ Pause here to ask students, “When you begin your job search and are
offered a position, you’ll want to consider what other benefits you’d want
to negotiate besides the base pay. What are some of those important
benefits?”
○ For those of you that pivoted from another career or background, how did
you transfer the skills you'd learned for a start with the DOE?
■ Time Stamp:
■ Pause here to ask students, “Let’s do as Tara said and “take a repository
of our skills” to see what hard and soft skills we have now. Afterwards,
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think of all the industries you’re interested in (*emphasize ALL*). How do

your current skills transfer?”
○ Pulled in Chat Question, Pulled from Google Q&A: Is there a point where its
too late to be open-minded to switch careers?
■ Time Stamp:
■ Pause here to ask students, “Maria says, “What your passion is today
might not be your passion tomorrow.” Have you experienced this before in
your life and if so what did you still learn or get from your previous
passion?”
AFTER, Reflection:
★ Encourage students to reflect on what they’ve heard and discussed through a
“Rose, Bud, Thorn” activity.
○ Rose: Which ideas from the panelists’ resonate with you?
○ Bud: Which ideas from the panelists’ would you like to explore more?
○ Thorn: Which ideas from the panelists’ do you have questions about?
Future Forward Panel 2:

★ Printable Summary & Questionnaire
Brief Summary:
In Women Leadership: Tips to Succeed in the Corporate Tech World women professionals
discussed their journey as successful leading professionals in tech companies and shared their
tips to land a job and thrive in the tech industry still documented by men.
Panelists Include:
★ Panelists Jennifer Brown (Google, Program Manager West)
★ Francesca Arturi (Schools Relationship Manager, Buncee)
★ Tooba Ali (Offering Manager, IBM Corporate Development)
★ Caitlin Crews (Adobe Stock Contributor Outreach)
★ Diana Gross (CDW, Learning & Innovation Strategist NYC)
★ Tara Carrozza (ModeratorTeacher Team Leadership Coach in DIIT)

○ Why is it important to talk about women employees in the tech industry?
○ Is it more challenging to navigate in the tech industry being a woman?
○ What skills can make a successful business lady in the tech business
world?
○ What challenges might being a woman face in the tech industry?
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★ Resources
○ How These Tech Companies Get More Women into Leadership
○ A Seat at The Head of the Table
DURING, Video Tips:

● How have you navigated the tech world to succeed as a female leader?
What’s worked and what hasn’t?
■ Time Stamp:
■ Pause here to ask students “What are the essential skills someone needs
to be successful at work?”
● What skills do you rely most heavily on and why? What skills do you look
for in candidates when hiring?
■ Time Stamp:
■ Pause here to ask students “What are the skills employers look for when
considering a candidate to employ?”
● Any tips for switching career paths?
■ Time Stamp:
■ Pause here to ask students “What are some tips to address conflict and
reach resolution at work? What are some tips to balance work and take
care of one’s health?”
AFTER, Reflection:

Brief Summary:
In Ernst & Young Future Forward Panel, participants engaged in the topic of how to best find the
best career and thrive at it. Ernst & Young leaders shared the path they took to get where they
are now and how to build their network of professionals.
Panelists include:
★ Colleen Madden- Assurance
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★ Kristi Kennedy - Director, Legislative and Strategic Engagement

★ Gorden Lam - Learning Facilitator
★ Rahul Sharma - Technical Architect
★ Lauren Wilson - Manager
★ Jesse Young - Associate Director
★ Olivia D’Silva- VAT Manager

○ What can you do while attending HS and college to plan for your career?
○ Why is building a network of like minded individuals and professionals
important?
○ What skills are valuable in the workplace?
○ What can you keep in mind as you define your career options?
★ Resources
○ 7 Tips for Building Your Professional Network
○ Your Professional Network Can Help You Succeed
DURING, Video Tips:

● What Do You Wish You Would Have Known When You Were in HS and
College?
■ Time Stamp:
■ Pause here to ask students “What are some tips HS and College students
can do before entering the work field?”
● How Do You Build Community and Network?
■ Time Stamp:
■ Pause here to ask students “What are some ways one can
connect with other professionals?”
● What Are Three Important Steps You Took?
■ Time Stamp:
■ Pause here to ask students “What suggestions panelists give to
broaden our skill set?”
● What Skills Are You Looking For to Hire?
■ Time Stamp:
■ Pause here to ask students “What skills employers look for in
prospective candidates?”
● What Do You Think You Knew in High School and Would You Do Different?
■ Time Stamp:
■ Pause here to ask students “What can you keep in mind while
attending HS before going off to college?”
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AFTER, Reflection:

Brief Summary:
In The Lifecycle of an App, panelists discussed the ideas behind designing and App and
essential skills to navigate and grow in the workplace.
Panelists include:
★ Reagan Porter, an Experience Strategy Designer at IBM who, as self-proclaimed
“design-thinking jedi” walks client teams through exercises to distil what’s actually
helpful.
★ Chloe Koo, a Senior Product Designer for Deloitte whose passion includes creating
more inclusive design for peoples’ varying needs.
★ Will Turnage, the Director of Technology at I&CO who moved from film to app
development, working cross-departmentally to represent tech across the company.
★ Svetlana Titova, a Test Software Engineer at the Institute for Disease Modeling with
experience in video game development as well.

○ What is the thinking process App designers engage in before creating an
App?
○ What skills are valued in an employee in the workplace?
○ What employers look for when hiring candidates?
○ How can you build your network of professionals?
★ Resources
○ Design Thinking in Application Development
○ How to Design an App: The Ultimate Guide
DURING, Video Tips:

● How does a new application get made, from idea to the app store?
■ Time Stamp:
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■ Pause here to ask students “How design-thinking process

supports building an App?”
● What skill set do you consider super important? What skill set do you find
companies are looking for?
■ Time Stamp:
■ Pause here to ask students What characteristics in a person can
advance a career?”
● Do you have any advice for how to network or build professional
relationships at work?
■ Time Stamp:
■ Pause here to ask students “What are some suggestions to
network and build a community of professionals?”
AFTER, Reflection:
Future Forward Panel 5: Engineering is for Everyone

Brief Summary:
Although the word “engineering” might invoke the idea of traditional STEM career journeys, the
reality is that engineering is a wide-ranging and diverse field with paths for nearly everyone!
Panelists included:
★ Evan Berf, a musician turned lead engineer with Frontier Casting, who advocates that
students and early career professionals “try something new and not be afraid to break
things.”
★ Kathy Rutherford, who works as a biomedical engineer and is an ever-learning problem
solver.
★ Avishek Paul, an integration engineer at Xander who’s found the most challenging and
yet rewarding part of his job are the complex problems for which he finds “elegant
solutions.”
★ Aayman Abdellatif, who is both a student and a research assistant at the engineering &
research powerhouse that is the University of Rochester.

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○ What “stereotypes” do you have about engineering as a career?

○ What are some challenges or issues an individual might face in this field?
What opportunities?
○ What are all the “types” or fields of engineering that you can think of?
★ Resources
○ Discover Engineering
○ Educational Technology Specialist Career Guide
○ Engineer Girl
○ Carnegie STEM Girls+ Careers A-Z
○ The Different Types of Engineering (And Their Career Paths)
DURING, Video Tips:

○ How would you compare your high school expectations with college
journeys?
■ Time Stamp:
■ Pause here to ask students “Which one, out of the four DIIT panelists,
jumps out at you as having a career you’d like to investigate?”
○ What is the difference between computer science and software

engineering?
■ Tell us about two pivotal moments on your career journey and one
moment that was a challenge.
■ Time Stamp:
■ Pause here to ask students, “What do the panelists’ journeys tell you
about where your own career path might take you in the future?”
○ For Evan, did your creative music background help you in engineering?
■ Time Stamp:
■ Pause here to ask students, “In our careers there are “hard skills” that
often take months and years of practice to master, such as coding or a
language, and “soft skills” that are developed in various ways, like
organization. Did the skills panelists’ mention fall more toward hard or
soft? What does this tell you? ”
○ For Kathy, has the biomedical industry become more inclusive to gender
over the course of your career?
■ Time Stamp:
○ What networking advice would you give to students and job seekers?
■ Time Stamp:
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AFTER, Reflection:

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1

Future Forward Career

Introduction to Future Forward

BEFORE, Preparation Questions:

DURING, Video Tips:

○ What journey did you take to arrive at your career?

★ Q&A Breakdown and Time Stamp

think of all the industries you’re interested in (*emphasize ALL*). How do

Future Forward Panel 2:

BEFORE, Preparation Questions:

DURING, Video Tips:

Future Forward Panel 3:

★ Kristi Kennedy - Director, Legislative and Strategic Engagement

BEFORE, Preparation Questions:

DURING, Video Tips:

Future Forward Panel 4:

BEFORE, Preparation Questions:

DURING, Video Tips:

■ Pause here to ask students “How design-thinking process

Future Forward Panel 5: Engineering is for Everyone

BEFORE, Preparation Questions:

○ What “stereotypes” do you have about engineering as a career?

DURING, Video Tips:

○ What is the difference between computer science and software

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think of all the industries you’re interested in (emphasize ALL). How do