Lamar P-TECH’s Breakfast with the Boss
What do you get when you mix a room full of eager students, a delicious breakfast and top-notch industry leaders? P-TECH at Lamar High School’s Breakfast with the Boss, of course!
Now in its third year, students had the opportunity to get a head start in networking with over 30 business and cybersecurity leaders at Lamar High School last week.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said junior and P-TECH student marketing director Eunique Ramirez. “You don’t get this every day.”
From mortgage professionals, banking professionals, Arlington mayor Jim Ross and more, the breakfast was all about exposure.
“Having people who are a part of different businesses that these kids might not even know exist is so important,” said assistant principal of P-TECH at Lamar Teri Williams. “This provides the kids with exposure that they may not otherwise have access to. That’s what makes this event so special.”
As leaders of the P-TECH program themselves, Ramirez and student body president Fred Threats Jr. both shared their thoughts.
“This opportunity re-enforces the nature of this program,” Threats said. “I’m so grateful to have this opportunity and I’m grateful that generations to come will have this opportunity, too.”
For Ramirez, the best part of Breakfast with the Boss was getting to know leaders on a more personal level.
“It’s scary, but having the opportunity to sit down and talk with them makes you realize that they are people, too,” she said. “Learning from them truly feels so inspiring. You can walk away from this and think wow I really did that.”
Welcoming incoming freshmen to the program also made the breakfast a perfect way for students to build connections with their class.
“It’s been so awesome,” said first-year student Brody Reynolds. “Everyone here is so welcoming. It feels like a family.”
Teachers and staff prepared incoming students by providing questions to help them learn to engage with leadership professionally.
Building confidence in the professional world is one of the main goals of the Breakfast with the Boss as well as the P-TECH program at Lamar.
“The biggest takeaway is the feeling that you can do it,” Threats said. “This shows each student that anything is possible, that they can sit down with CEOs and work towards that same spot. This builds so much confidence in what we can accomplish in the future. It gives us the motivation to strive for excellence.”
View all the photos from Breakfast with the Boss here.