The Career Lunch Series has begun for the 2024-2025 school year.  APEF, with the assistance of the orientation team at Florimont, organizes the Career Lunch series in order to give students in their penultimate and final years a unique opportunity to explore a variety of professional fields through firsthand stories shared by industry professionals who may or may not be parents of Florimont students.

The goal is to broaden the students’ perspectives, help them confirm future career choices, and provide valuable insights into what makes for a fulfilling and balanced professional life.

This week, in collaboration with APEF, Andrea Hernandez and Alice Hermé kicked off the first session with 67 eager students in attendance. They explored key areas such as management, finance, entrepreneurship, and engineering. Here are some of the valuable lessons they shared:

• Learn from everything: Every experience holds lessons that can shape your career and personal growth.
• e opportunistic: Don’t hesitate to pivot, change direction, or even start something new.
• It’s okay not to know yet: At 16 or 17, uncertainty about the future is normal—but taking action, exploring, and discovering your passions is key.
• Reflect on purpose: Consider the deeper meaning and impact behind your work.

The Career Lunches offer students a chance to understand the value of building strong professional networks. Geneva, with its international organizations, companies, and NGOs, provides a rich environment for making connections that can shape future careers. Networking early on gives students access to opportunities and relationships that can guide their paths forward, whether in business, finance, law, or the nonprofit sector.

These sessions are a great platform for discussing passions, motivations, failures, and how to approach challenges. Each session features at least two speakers, ensuring a diversity of perspectives. It’s also an excellent way for students to learn about balancing personal and professional life.

For the 2024-2025 series, APEF has already lined up a number of inspiring speakers, and are seeking a few more generous professionals to share their valuable experiences with Flormont students.

16 October

• Television: Commercial Function in the TV Sector
• Oil:  Raw Material Purchasing in the Oil Sector
• Yohann Gahier & Michele Gosetti

6 November

• Artificial Intelligence
• Information Technology
• Christophe Tricot & Sylvain Giotto

More lunches planned for the Spring term around the following themes:

• Medicine
• Law
• Transport
• Diplomatic Research
• Urban Planning
• Quantum Physics
• Air Traffic Control
• Entrepreneur
• Communication

Speakers are invited to arrive at 12:15 p.m. for lunch, and the session runs from 1:00 p.m. to 1:45 p.m.

Would you like to inspire Florimont students and help them envision their futures? Contact the Career Lunches Team [insert email] to learn more about this opportunity!

A big thank you in advance on behalf of our students!