Shadow leaders: Local businesses show students the ropes

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February 5, 2009

By Bethany Bray

Lessons for students at Esperanza Academy this Monday were a little outside the box — and textbook.

Monday, Feb. 2, was Shadow Day and for some students in seventh- and eighth-grades that meant watching a trial in Boston or seeing surgery on a cat at Andover Animal Hospital.

Thirty-four students at the privately funded all-girls middle school for at-risk populations shadowed local businesswomen, including several Andover entrepreneurs.

The experience not only gave Esperanza students a glimpse of different professions, but exposed the girls to confident, smart and successful women, said Laurie Bottiger, Esperanza's head of school.

"It's one more person in their lives that cares about them, and wants to see them successful. That means more to the girls than people can imagine ... Our girls are watching professional women who have great jobs, but care about people. That's part of a model we're trying to embed in our girls, of helping others," said Bottiger, who lives in Andover.

"The girls also gain a little bit of clarity, of what they might like, what they might not like (as a job). It shows them they have to do the best in everything they can at school, so they can be choice-makers when they're grown up."

On Monday morning, several local businesswomen spoke at the Lawrence school about their careers and answered questions from fifth-, sixth- and seventh-grade students. The day included several professionals in Great Women to Know, a service and social organization of professional women, co-founded by Andover residents Susan Wilson and Margaret Hamilton. Students shadowed physicians, bankers, lawyers, acupuncturists, school teachers and corporate professionals, among others.

"It made me think about what I want to be when I grow up. (Shadow day) shows that women can be whatever they want, and nothing can hold them back," said Alejandra Garcia, 13, who shadowed Andover business owner Merit Tukiainen with seventh-grade classmate Aleyne Betance.

Besides ordering stock, managing employees and other day-to-day tasks at Night and Day, Tukiainen's Park Street boutique, the girls agreed they learned "how hard it is to run a business."

Tukiainen talked with the girls about the path she took to owning a business, after working in corporate hospitality in Boston. She opened Night and Day in 2003 to follow a dream, she said, and to be closer to her family.

Tukiainen's example showed the importance of completing school, said Aleyne, 12.

Esperanza eighth-graders Rosalia Garcia and Penelope Sanchez spent the day at Andover Animal Hospital shadowing owner Diane Tower and her veterinary staff. The girls, who said they both love animals and hope to work in veterinary medicine some day, were on cloud nine as they talked with staff, toured the facility and witnessed an ultrasound on a pit bull, another dog getting a bath and a surgery on a cat.

The girls were surprised to see "what the inside of a cat looks like," said Penelope, and that a laser was used during surgery.

Their favorite part of the day?

Playing with a chihuahua at the hospital, said Rosalia, smiling.

Both Tower and Tukiainen agreed they didn't think twice about hosting girls from Esperanza for shadow day.

"You can hear about it (a career), and talk about it, but it's different to be here," said Tower. "It's good to see the whole picture."

"I have a lot of respect for Esperanza and what they do there," said Tukiainen. "I hope I've given these girls a little inspiration. They can see it's a lot of work, but you have to stick with it, and make smart choices. To me, being a local business owner, you have to be involved in the local community. It would be a wasted opportunity if I didn't participate."