Kids at Work, Adults at Play

The halls of Schneider Downs were a bit louder than normal, as scores of students visited Schneider Downs for “Take Your Child to Work Day 2010” on April 22nd.

Children in both the Pittsburgh and Columbus offices came to work with their parents, but also spent a great part of their morning learning about Schneider Downs, careers and the many different flavors of donuts that can be enjoyed for breakfast.

In Columbus, the children enjoyed a presentation by the marketing department, who spoke about the importance of storytelling in communications. The children were challenged to create their own advertisements, and then share their creations with each other. We also played games and had contests. The children also had the opportunity to explore the offices where their parents work. (And, as usual at a Columbus event, food was available and nobody went hungry!)

In Pittsburgh, the group enjoyed an exercise presented by Aaron Churchill of Junior Achievement. Aaron engaged the children in an interactive game that demonstrated the many ways that various industries and economies interact to create a more global marketplace. Thanks to Aaron for finding a fun way to teach the children about how the economy actually works.

Later in Pittsburgh, shareholder Mary Richter spoke to the children about dreams. The kids then broke into small teams for a great competition to see which group could list the highest number of careers. It was a spirited competition that hinged on whether the judges would consider “Musketeer” to be a viable career. After much debate, chief judge Jim Yard decided it was a legitimate career, which ended the game in a tie.

I have no doubt that among our groups today were scores of future accountants, but find it just as likely that we also had a few future attorneys, singers and maybe even a future politician. (We also had a young man who plans to play for the Pittsburgh Penguins, so we’ll keep an eye on him.) Thanks to all parents for sharing your brightest achievements with us.