Fort Mill Academy's first career day capped off a month-long drive to prepare students for life after school.

Administrators at the school wanted their students to feel a connection to the 16 guest speakers, according to business education teacher Kathy Metallo, who organized the event.

"The other schools offer opportunities like this [and] we wanted to offer it to the kids here," Metallo said. "In securing the speakers we told them about the kinds of students we have here, and asked them to share something about their own life the kids could relate to, to offer a sense of hope that there is a place for them."

Leading up to the big day, which featured business owners, a nurse, a plumber, contractor, a culinary arts teacher, a SCUBA diving instructor, former NFL player turned developer Terry Cousins and others, Academy students spent the month learning how to write resumés, apply for jobs and negotiate salaries.

"South Carolina is moving towards more of a career cluster model," Principal Marty Conner said. "This was a chance for us to align more with the state."

Fort Mill Academy is an alternative school that offers smaller class sizes among other educational options. The school does not offer all the career cluster courses Fort Mill and Nation Ford high schools have, so Conner and his staff come up with other ways to expose students to career options that await them after graduation. Field trips and the new career day program are viable alternatives, Conner said.

Each student heard from four speakers in addition to Cousins, who spoke to all the students. The teams Cousins, a cornerback, played for include Jacksonville and the New York Football Giants, the 2008 Super Bowl champions. Cousins was not on the Giants' squad last year, but he did play for Giants Head Coach Tom Coughlin in New York and before that in Jacksonville.

The students were given a list of the speakers and the industries they represented and asked to pick four that interested them.

"It was very fun, we got to learn a lot of new things," seventh grader Amanda Rutledge said. "It helps us learn what we want to do in the future."

Insurance agent Raye Felder was one of the guest speakers, and was struck by how well prepared the students were.

"They had great questions," she said. "They weren't afraid to speak up."

Felder has spoken at career days at Fort Mill High before. She enjoys the process because it offers the students a window into working life and exposes them to a variety of possible career paths.

"As elementary school students they all want to be firemen, but by high school and college, they really have to think about where best to apply their skills," Felder said.

Metallo and Conner plan to continue the career program next year.