The Fairfax Academy faculty and staff was fortunate to engage in a professional development session this week from a guest presenter. We are excited to engage in more collaborative work around the Portrait of a Graduate Skills as an Academy and find unique opportunities for our students to collaborate on cross disciplinary opportunities.

The first one of these opportunities is the annual Career Experience Expo on November.

We have  extended the deadline for the Career Experience Expo paperwork to Wednesday, October 26. Please make sure your student submits all paperwork (acknowledgement form, emergency care form, and pre-arranged absence form) to the Academy office or their teacher by 3pm. Information about scheduling rides and selecting breakout sessions is below.

In this week's staff feature we get to know more about Ms. Orr, our brand new Career Experience Specialist and sponsor of the Career Experience Expo.

The 5th annual Career Experience Expo is an exciting day for your student to gain exposure to industries connected to the career pathways represented at Fairfax Academy.  Students joining us for the full day will experience a Keynote Speaker, 4 breakout sessions of their choosing and a closing networking session.

Field trip forms were distributed the week of October 14 in all classes. The final deadline for field trip forms to be returned has been extended to Wednesday, October 26th at 3pm.  Students who will be joining us for the day will receive, by email, a google form from Ms. Orr, to select their breakout sessions and share how they will be transported to and from Fairfax Academy. (Students will have the opportunity to leverage the current Academy shuttles from select schools. Information will be shared with students after they sign up for the event, no later than October 28.)

We have incredible industry professionals joining us, representing all areas of Fairfax Academy.  There are over 30 breakout presentations that will be broken up into four, 45-minute sessions in addition to our Keynote Speaker, Ms.Selma Patillo Simms, Professional Certified American Sign Language Interpreter and ASL Coordinator for Montgomery County Public Schools. She will begin our day presenting to all Fairfax Academy students on Freelancing. Our Closing session will be given by Sweet Spot Studios, a local professional music studio in Annandale, Virginia.

For any questions about the Career Experience Expo, please email Ms. Orr at kmorr@fcps.edu. 

Ms. Orr relocated to Northern Virginia from Seguin, Texas with her husband Scott and daughter Theora in 2013.  Since this time, their family has grown to include Keenan, their son, born in 2016.  Ms. Orr is also the mommy of two 13-year-old litter mate kitties, Nala and Hermes.  Nala is super fluffy, and Hermes is super orange.  Ms. Orr is originally from upstate NY (Valatie), but has lived and worked in: Upstate NY; New Orleans, Louisiana; South Florida; Dubai, UAE; Vancouver, British Columbia; Central Texas; and now here in Northern Virginia.

Ms. Orr began working for FCPS in 2019 for Mount Vernon High School as the College and Career Specialist.  This past July 2022, Ms. Orr was hired and transitioned to Career Experience Specialist with Fairfax Academy.  Ms. Orr has over 15 years of experience in career services within higher education, the federal job Corp, international career guidance, state workforce, and now, K-12.   Ms. Orr received a Bachelor of Arts degree from SUNY (State University of New York) College at Potsdam, and was a double major in both Communication Studies and Employment Relations. 

After her first job after college in a human resources department for an engineering firm in Albany, NY, she decided to go back to school for her master’s degree to become a career counselor, which spoke to her heart.  Ms. Orr has a Master's of Education in Counselor Education from the University of New Orleans, with a specialization in college and career counseling.  During that time, Ms. Orr was a counselor intern for Loyola University New Orleans’ Department of Counseling and Career Development.  Since that time, she has served as a specialist and counselor in career services for many work environments, including Dubai Women’s College where she lived and worked in Dubai, UAE for 6 months serving national women with career guidance and job training.   

Ms. Orr’s favorite part of her job at Fairfax Academy is educating students on career options, and exposing students to new areas of work they may become passionate about.  Ms. Orr would love to see more professionals in our surrounding community visit Fairfax Academy to share their career paths with our students, to match topics and lessons that students are learning in class.  As a new employee at Fairfax Academy, she is hosting her first Career Experience Expo in a few short weeks!