Career Talk #2 – May 14th, 2020: Balancing YOUR Career and Family

Our guest today was Davita Bateman, a parent of 5 children with 2 studying in the Binghamton City School District. One is in junior high and the other in high school.

Davita talked about how online school classes have actually enhanced the relationships she has with her children’s teachers. Davita also said that although the online schooling environment can be a bit hectic, it has made her focus more on what each child needs, and she has become more involved in her children’s education.

Davita’s career in Food Service has helped her balance career and family because her schedule allows her to be home to support her children during the school week when they need help with homework and she can be more diligent about making sure that they are staying on track with their school work. She also has time – off during school breaks to spend quality time with her children.

Some of the highlights of our interview and discussion were:

Parenting:

Make things FUN for the “Kids”, they will be more excited and do more if school work is FUN.
Community and school are interrelated; one makes the other better.
Personnel stories about how fun environments helped people succeed in school.
Family involvement with teachers and school staff is very important for student success.

Career:

Find a career with a schedule that works for you and your family.
Volunteer opportunities are GREAT for your career and they can really help you take the next step towards your professional goal.
Sometimes you can connect with a mentor at a volunteer or community opportunity center.
Get into a career that you love or at least like a lot.
Although work can, and should be fun sometimes it takes seasons of really hard work and focus to move forward.
Sometimes baby-steps are essential. You get to the top of the mountain step by step.

Once again a special thank you to Davita for being our guest and to everybody that joined us today!

Next week, we will speak with Dan Lesch from the Fatherhood Program at the Family Enrichment Network about Parenting and YOUR Career. Shelly Lay from ATTAIN Lab will also join us to share information about how to sharpen YOUR computer and technology skills for now and the future.