More than 80 participate in high school Shadow Day

SAUGUS – Saugus High School juniors may have been excused from class for the day earlier this month, but that doesn?t mean they didn?t have plenty of work to do as more than 80 students participated in this year?s Shadow Day.Shadow Day is an annual event at Saugus High where students pick a business to “shadow” for the day.Math teacher Laurie Golan started the program in 1999, and said it?s a unique way for students to learn about potential career paths, especially since the program was switched from seniors to juniors last year.?At the beginning I wasn?t a fan of switching it to juniors, but now the feedback has been so good and the kids are coming back to me saying they either want to continue in that job or have come back and said they need to rethink it,” said Golan.Golan said students turn in a list of his or her top three jobs that they want to shadow, and noted the Police and Fire Departments are usually high on the list, while nursing is gaining in popularity.After a breakfast at Hilltop Steakhouse, students fanned out across the area to places like the State House, Brigham and Women?s Hospital, the Police and Fire departments, and local businesses such as attorneys and veterinarians.Jenna Furtado spent the day at the Massachusetts State House as she followed a pair of state reps, Donald Wong and Kathi-Anne Reinstein. Furtado said she got to tour both chambers of the house and met Speaker Robert DeLeo.?They were very nice people and very down to earth,” said Furtado. “We got to see how it looks when it?s busy. We learned that a lot of the problems that come to them are tough problems like hunger and abuse issues.”Brenda Arraya also got a taste of local politics, as she shadowed Mike Serino, Chairman of the Board of Selectmen. Arraya got a tour of all the different departments in town, and said she had no idea how many people it takes to run the town.?I learned how everybody who works for the town is like their own little community,” said Arrarya. “I thought that was so cool because everybody was so close. Even from different departments ? people were still connected. I didn?t know it was so specifically divided. Everybody had a different job.”Monique Todd shadowed Conservation Director Frank McKinnon and received a crash course in Saugus? huge spread of wetlands.?I enjoyed it quite a bit,” said Todd. “We drove around and toured the wetlands, and he said that if you fill in the wetlands, our town floods. Wetlands are wetlands, the water has to go somewhere. People keep trying to do it and don?t realize how bad it is.”Todd said she also learned how diverse the ecosystems are in the wetlands and even though she?s looking to pursue a career in the literary field, she said she?d definitely be interested in writing about wetlands to help preserve them.Arianna Sicari shadowed at Salem Hospital and after a tour of the pharmaceutical department, she spent the rest of the day following a nurse on her rounds.?It was mostly older patients, and I definitely want to work with younger kids, but I like it because I know I want to go into the nursing field,” said Sicari.Sicari said she was surprised to learn about how much education goes into being a nurse.?Even after you graduate college there?s a lot of schooling that you have to do,” said Sicari.Allen Nahigian shadowed at the local YMCA where he helped organize events for kids.?I thought it was very informative,” said Nahigian. “It gave me a good chance to see a possible career in the future and it teaches a lot about responsibility and hard work.”Ryan Perry spent the day with Robert Brenna of Perfect Parties and said it was a much bigger benefit that he thought it would be after listing entertainment as his second choice.?We pretty much got to see how the business is run,” said Perry. “They?re a national company so he showed us a huge board of everywhere they go and everything they have to send to all these places.”Perry, who?s president of the junior class, said he was even offere