This Tuesday, a different adult will be leading one of Paly’s Algebra 1A classes. Eric Keyes is not a teacher, nor is he an administrator. He is the chef at Buca Di Beppo’s restaurant and he will be in this class to speak for Career Speaker Day.

According to career advisor Wendy Sinton, there will be an extended third period this Tuesday for speakers from the professional world to come in to each class and discuss their occupation.

“I am the Chef Partner for Buca di Beppo in Palo Alto,” Keyes said. “This includes ordering, staffing, training and the execution of recipes on a day to day basis.”

Keyes is only one of the many speakers scheduled to come in for Paly’s Career Speaker Day. According to Sinton, there will be at least 60 volunteer speakers coming in to talk to classes. Each third period class was given the opportunity to choose the type of profession it wanted to hear about for Career Day.

“Most classes voted for a chef, CSI or detective work, or video game designer,” Sinton said. “The most unusual career [a class voted for] was a bounty hunter, but we have one to speak for them.”

According to Sinton, in previous years, many speakers have discussed “what they do, how they got into that field, and why they chose to work in it”.

“My basic plan is to initially provide some background into myself and explain what led me into this career,” Keyes said. “I thought I would describe an average day in the life of a chef, provide some details about the various responsibilities involved in the job, [and] offer some insights into the highs and lows of such a job.”

Students have enjoyed listening to the speakers in past years, according to Sinton.

“I’ve received very positive feedback from students,” Sinton said. “They still learn a lot [from the speakers], even if they are not interested in the profession.”

Sinton is impressed with the community’s willingness to participate in Career Speaker Day. “It’s hard to find enough people to speak, but they all make time to come in,” Sinton said. “[The community] truly wants to share, we are lucky to have so many people willing to volunteer to speak.”

“[Volunteering to speak] provides me an opportunity to offer insight into a career others might be considering,” Keyes said. [By speaking], I hope [students gain] a deeper appreciation of what goes into a meal every time they dine out.”