People of varying professions went to Fultondale High School for Career Day, a day in which students at the school got a look at possible employment choices for the future.

Among the speakers was Charnell Bizell, a Birmingham resident who works with the family court circuit.

An assembly was called at the gym where Bizell gave a speech to the students.

Bizell gave an account of life prior to her current profession in which she led a difficult teenagehood before going back to school to get her GED. She struggled with drug addiction and homelessness before bouncing back to go on to college at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she concentrated on sociology and African American Studies.   

As Bizell spoke to the students, she stressed how vital it is to stay in school and work toward a career goal.  

Bizell encouraged self esteem in the students as well as determination.  

Before she finished, she had them stand up and chant, “I am somebody. I am special.”

Elsewhere in the school, other guest speakers visited classrooms to tell students about their jobs. Speakers included an evidence  technician, a lawyer, a college recruiter, a soldier, a mechanic, a pilot and  various salespeople and business owners.

All of the speakers went into detail about their professions and took questions from inquisitive students.

The evidence technician spoke to students about the realities of his job and stressed the difference between crime scene investigation and how it is portrayed in film and television, which turns out to be quite different from the real thing.

Career Day is practiced at schools throughout the Jefferson county and is a way of educating kids about the job market. It is also a way to encourage, them as Bizell did.

“You can do anything you want,” she told the students at the assembly. “But it’s not going to be given to you. You’re going to have to work for it.”