As freshman Semona Robel heard forensic psychologist Ernest Boswell speak at MED Club Nov. 8, she said she learned important information about careers in the medical field.

“(I learned) that getting good grades is definitely important and you should work hard, try your best,” Robel said.

According to MED Club adviser Julie Schilz, there is not time in school to hear about the kind of opportunities that are available in the medical field, even in related classes.

“For students who are interested in medical professions there is not a lot of opportunity in the school day to really explore different professions,” Schilz said. “I teach biology, so we talk a lot about different living things, and I relate it a lot of time to diseases or disorders, but they don’t actually learn about specifics of what it’s like to be a medical professional.”

According to Robel, medical professionals can help students with difficult decisions between specific fields within medicine, making them important for many students’ college preparation.

“It’s hard to know what aspect of the medical field you want to work in if you don’t have someone to go off of and reference,” Robel said. “I think it’s really important because I don’t really know if I want to go into the medical field yet. It’s important to me to hear from other people and see their passion for it.”

Forensic psychologist Ernest Boswell said guest speakers can be beneficial in helping students understand various upcoming career choices.

“I feel that professionals need to connect with high school students to give them an idea about different fields so they can make an informed decision about what they want to do in college,” Boswell said.

Boswell said his profession may not be for everyone, but for some, it is the right choice.

“There are a lot of people who came to the classroom who are not interested in clinical psychology or forensic psychology,” Boswell said. “That’s okay. I’m interested in that one person that is.”

Schilz said she hopes the speaker was able to give students something to work towards in the future, while helping the students who attended in educational ways.

“Dr. Boswell could have helped in sparking some interest that maybe (students) didn’t know they had, giving the students more inspiration to pursue something new,” Schilz said.   “Maybe (students will) be able to look at school differently, have a more focused idea of what they want to do with their life and the pathway that can take to get there.”

Schilz said the medical speakers provide new perspectives to students who are wondering about their future careers when they speak about their experiences.

“It is really nice for someone who is actually in the field to be able to come in and talk about their day, talk about how they got there and hopefully give the students a better idea of if it is something they would be interested in doing with their life,” Schilz said.

According to Schilz, guest speakers are generous to spend their free time to talk to high school students, as they are not paid for their attendance.

“It is really awesome that they are willing to come in on their free time, on an early morning to talk to high school students,” Schilz said. “They are not getting paid to do this, and I think it is really valuable for students interested in the field to hear what they have to offer.”