Thursday morning West Side Elementary gifted students from second to sixth grade gathered in the school’s library to learn about various career paths from those currently working in the profession.

Gifted teacher Alicia Verweij said she polled her students to determine which professions they would be interested in learning about. Once that list was established, she invited professionals from around Picayune to attend the day’s event where the students would interview them.

Occupations represented during the event included veterinarian, nurse, hairdresser, engineer, banker, lawyer, chiropractic assistant, teacher, pilot, city manager and executive director of a chamber of commerce.

During the event, the children used a list of pre-determined and impromptu questions to research each profession they might be interested in pursuing as an adult. The questions focused on pay, perks, downsides and the training required for each occupation.

Verweij said that after the event, the children were tasked with writing a report on their findings, which would include an opinion about whether they are still interested in a particular job.