A group of students at Lake Bluff Middle School got an interesting proposal the morning of Feb. 2.
“Who wants to be handcuffed?” asked Dave Twohig, an FBI agent.
“Me, me,” called out most of the students as they raised their hands.
Twohig was one of 25 adults who addressed the school’s sixth, seventh and eighth graders about their careers.
Twohig told students that the biggest growing threat being investigated by the FBI is cybercrime. He also explained how he sometimes wore a bulletproof vest with the word “police” when interviewing people nervous about talking to the FBI.
In another room, Michelle Hastings, an assistant professor at Rosalind Franklin University in North Chicago, spoke to students about her work as a scientist.
“In middle school, I wasn’t interested in science,” she said. “My best friend talked me into joining the science club.”
Once she got involved, she became interested in how genes got passed down through generations. She conducted an experiment involving the breeding of mice.
“My mice never got pregnant and I never got an answer, but it got me excited,” Hastings said. “I liked science and I liked genetics.”
Hastings also spoke about the qualities of a good scientist and the research she has done on treating spinal muscular atrophy and Usher syndrome.
Heather Grum of Lake Bluff told a group of students sitting around her in a half circle about her job as a stage manager for theater.
“I really loved reading,” Grum said. “I was trying to figure out how to make that my job. I’m also a really organized person.”
Being organized appears to be vital for stage managers who Grum said have to keep track of the script, communicate with directors and other production staff and keep track of what needs to be changed.
“I might have to take a note that a six-foot unicorn should be eight feet tall,” Grum said.
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Grum said she has to have an understanding of just about everything on stage including how to operate all the equipment, sew or read sheet music. She also has to be quick to address problems that can range from a fire to an injured actor to an audience member getting sick.
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