KRISTEN GONZALEZ: Hey Wizards, we are you co-hosts Kristen Gonzalez –

AMY OREA: and Amy Orea.

GONZALEZ: In this episode we are exploring how students’ childhood dream jobs compare to the careers they’re considering now as seniors about to graduate.

GONZALEZ: During our research we found an article titled Do What You Wanted To Do When You Were A Child it mentions “In a recent study found that 6 in 10 people failed to attain their childhood dream jobs. More surprisingly, 82% of people who did not fulfill their dreams jobs are not pursuing their primary passion in any form as adults.”

OREA: We’ll be talking to three of our seniors at MCHS about how their goals have changed, what influenced those changes, and what they’ve learned along the way.

GONZALEZ: Our first senior here with us is Daisy Jimenez. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? 

JIMENEZ:  I’m 18 I like listening to music and I’m going to University of Llover.


OREA: What was your dream career when you were growing up?

JIMENEZ: My dream career was to become a doctor.

GONZALEZ: What inspired that dream?

JIMENEZ: People who got sick I wanted to help them.

OREA: Has your dream job changed since then, if so what is it now?

JIMENEZ: It has changed. My dream job now is to become a criminal justice lawyer.

GONZALEZ: What changed over the years to cause this shift?

JIMENEZ: I didn’t want to work with the human body, I wanted to work more with people’s personal life.

OREA: Were there any obstacles or challenges that made your original dream harder to pursue?

JIMENEZ: I would say it’s a lot of schooling that you have to go to and also I just didn’t think I was ready to commit myself to being able to take care of someone’s actual body and prescribe medication for them.

GONZALEZ: How did factors like family expectations, finances, school experiences, or opportunities influence your goals?

JIMENEZ: I don’t really want to be in school for too long, and I wanted to do like explore my other options.

OREA: Do you feel disappointed about moving away from your original dream, or do you feel good about the change? Why?

JIMENEZ: I feel good about the change because I know I’m where I want to be, and if I did pursue a doctor degree, I wouldn’t be happy with it.


GONZALES: Looking back, do you think your younger self would be surprised by your current goals?

JIMENEZ: I wouldn’t say so because when I was younger, I would always change my goals my career goals so.

OREA: What is one goal you have now for your future career, and what the steps are you taking to reach it?

JIMENEZ:  A goal I have for my future is to be like set by the time I’m 30. Right now I’m taking college classes. I’m already getting my pathway to law certificate to achieve it.


OREA & GONZALEZ: Thank you for sharing! 

GONZALEZ: Now let’s hear from our next senior and see how different or similar their experiences compare.

GONZALEZ: Our next senior is Militza Herrera. Let’s hear a little bit about yourself.

HERRERA: Hi, I like I really like playing volleyball and I also am in the dance team. 
And regarding back to volleyball, like I was in the volleyball team, my sophomore year, and actually me and my friends are the ones that actually started that sport in our school.

OREA: What was your dream career when you were younger?

HERRERA: Well, when I was younger, I wanted to be a marine biologist.

GONZALEZ: What inspired that dream?

HERRERA: Well actually I had actually I still love the ocean like I’m almost so fascinated and like know what like what’s underwater you know because like I see so many movies like, like the Godzilla movies, like imagine like being able to be a marine biologist and able to go like, down and like explore all the, like the ancient artifacts and the possibilities of encountering, like creatures that nobody has seen yet, I wanted to do that. Yeah.

OREA: Has your dream job changed since then, if so what is it now?

HERRERA: Actually, yeah, it has changed. What I want to do now is mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering.

GONZALEZ: What changed over the years to cause this shift?

HERRERA: Actually, what made me change my mind is that I think it was over summer. I was watching a  horror movie with my dad, right? The movie is called 2012. 
And then they made me realize, like, hey, like, if like that ever happens, right? And somebody and like, they choose people that really important and they can help the people, like, rebuild their, like the society, right? They’re not going to choose a marine biologists, so that’s why I chose mechanical engineering bioengineering.


OREA: Did you ever feel pressure to choose a more “practical” career? If so, where did that pressure come from?

HERRERA: Actually, yeah.
It’s mainly because it’s like. It’s kind of not really in demand, but at the same time it is, but also, I want to make an impact on the world. And, yeah, I could do that with marine biology, but I think I could do it more with the majors I chose now.

GONZALEZ: Do you feel disappointed about moving away from your original dream, or do you feel good about the change? Why?

HERRERA: I feel a little bit disappointed because like I still really want to do that, but I changed my plans, but I also molded those plans into also going into that childhood dream.

OREA: Looking back, do you think your younger self would be surprised by your current goals?

HERRERA: Actually, yes and no because well, the one thing that inspired me to be like a mechanical engineer, right, is Iron Man. So now whenever people say, like, why do you want to be a mechanical engineer?” 
I’m like, ” I’m gonna be in the real world Iron Man.” and they’re like, “Oh, okay. Yeah.

GONZALEZ: What is one goal you have now for your future career, and what steps are you taking to reach it?

HERRERA: One goal now is mainly to help like the planet in general because it’s, like, dying, you know, because it’s also if you think about it, it’s like a living creature, you know? So in order to pursue that goal that I have in mind, I’m going to go to UC Merced and they have a really good program that also involves a lot with the environment.
So I’m going to mold everything of what I want to do with that.

HERRERA: OK, one thing I suggest to everybody here is that OK the moment that the professor of the college classes you’re taking the moment that they let out the assignments immediately do them, even if you don’t want to, just like, actually do them and don’t save it until the weekend because it will, it will come back at you, okay? Trust me. So please make sure to do your assignments on time.


OREA: Thank you for taking the time to share with us on our podcast. Now introducing our next interview with senior Jonny Orozco. Tell us a little bit about yourself. 

OROZCO: Hello, everyone, my name is Johnny Orozco, so as you guys know, I’m a senior. 
I’m also, you know, going to be a student at Cal State Fullerton in the fall and a little bit about myself, I’ll say, I’m, you know, I love playing basketball. I love, I’m a big Lakers fan. I love, you know, playing piano and ukulele in my spare time. I’m also a big video game guy and I also love watching movies in my spare time. And I’m a big fan of Michael Jackson. He’s my favorite artist.

GONZALEZ: What was your dream job when you were younger?

OROZCO: When I was younger honestly it went from like a variety of ranges. It went from me wanting to be a cop to a doctor and then a lawyer and like a bunch of those, like, were really just things that I wanted to do because I feel like I was always in the path towards helping people. That’s really I really wanted to do when I was younger.

OREA: What inspired that dream? 

OROZCO: Well, what inspired that dream really was, I guess it would be my parents, you know, the way they raised me. They always inspired me to not only help others, of course. 
Like, it’s I realized that, yes, you have to, you know, take care of yourself, but it’s okay to help and support others if it helps you become a better person. That’s why I always thought, if I’m going to be something, I want to be something where I can help people.

OREA: Has your dream career changed since then, if so what is it now?

OROZCO: Yes, it definitely has changed now I’ve shifted. 
I’m still in the market of helping people, of course, but right now I’m gonna do that as a teacher because that’s where I’m going to Cal State Fullerton in order to get my teaching credential in order to become a teacher. That’s what I want to do.

GONZALEZ: What changed over the years to cause this shift?

OROZCO: Well, there was a lot that changed honestly I went from somone that you know that didnt really like school to start liking school as my elementary school years went on. And I finally started making new friends and I realized that my teachers were honestly some of my biggest helpers and inspirations to what I want to do later in life and who I am today because my teachers inspired me to become selfless and, you know, helpful with others. And also, it created the positive attitude and mindset that I have today.

OREA: Were there any obstacles or challenges that made your original dream harder to pursue?

OROZCO: Yes, there actually definitely were a few of them mostly being towards the classes that I had to take I had to certain amount of classes in order to, you know, to get this the credential I’m on right now. Also, of course, you know, there was also gaining the experience, you know, that was hard because I had to look for a school that’s willing to take me on as a, you know, a student teacher assistant, you know, in order for me to gain experience. 
And also definitely having patience, patience has never been my strong suit, but over time, I did learn how to develop that. And now I feel like I’m a better person and I’m much more closer to achieving my goal than I was a few years back.

GONZALEZ: How did factors like family expectations, finances, school experiences, or opportunities influence your goals? 

OROZCO: Well, there definitely was a lot that went into it when it comes to a family expectations. Growing up, my parents always expected, you know, the best out of me. 
They expected me to excel in whatever it is I put my mind to. And I did do that. Later on is when it came to school, sports or whatever it is that any extra cricket that took place in. 
And definitely, yes, I learned that when it comes to, you know, job occupations that my family always expected me to be more of a be something more of a white collar worker because as coming from a long line of Mexican Americans, most of my family members went into manual labor and construction and it’s like, I didn’t really want that to be my path. So I chose a different path instead in order to, you know, to exceed my family’s expectations.

GONZALEZ: Do you feel disappointed about moving away from your original dream, or do you feel good about the change? Why?

OROZCO: I don’t feel disappointed at all. I actually feel good about this change because sure yes, I mean like going from you know dreaming being doctor or lawyer to you know, being a teacher Sure, you will say, why would you ever do that? 
I mean, like, but it’s like, it’s for me it’s not entirely about the money. Like, I’ll still make good money wherever, you know, no matter what job I get. But I feel like this job of being a teacher is what makes me happy because over the past year of me being a student TA, I’ve felt, you know, happier and I felt more accomplished than I ever have before. 
And I really feel like this is going to be what I want to do for the rest of my life. So, yeah, I’m not disappointed. I feel great about this change.

OREA: Looking back, do you think your younger self would be surprised by your current goals?

OROZCO: Oh, yeah. 
I think he might actually hate me, considering the fact that younger me did not like school that much, so it’s like, yeah, he’s wondering, why would you want to become the one thing I don’t like? Like, let’s be honest? But I feel like at the end of the day, he might understand, like, once I explained to him, like, what we went through over time and he would understand most likely why I’m choosing to become a teacher. 
And maybe he might actually change his mind about this whole thing too.

GONZALEZ: What is one goal you have now for your future career, and what steps are you taking to reach it?

OROZCO: Well, a goal that I have now that I’m basically a step close from my future career is definitely right now really my goal is just to get my degree, my credential, and get hired somewhere. But really what my goal is that I want to make an impact on least one student to life. 
I want to see if I can really help a student, you know, exceed their expectations, like how my teachers help exceed my expectations. I want to do the same for them. And what I’m going to do, I’m going to study, of course, and I’m going to work as hard as I can to achieve that.


GONZALEZ: Is there anything else you would like to add?

OROZCO: Yeah, I would say that for anyone that’s listening to this that if you feel that you can you know achieve something, go try go achieve that dream. And no matter what anyone says, there’s nothing that can stop you from achieving that dream as long as you set your mind to it.

OREA: Thank you for sharing your experiences.

OREA: After hearing from our seniors, it’s clear that dreams we have for ourselves as kids don’t always pan out how we envisioned. 

GONZALEZ: This podcast has definitely proved that every person’s journey to find their dream career path is different. 

OREA: It involves many challenges and obstacles along the way that may shift our initial plans for the future.

OREA & GONZALEZ: Thank you wizards for listening to our final podcast together for our freshman year. 

OREA: Congrats to the class of 2026. Keep working hard and make your younger self proud. 

GONZALEZ: Hope you all enjoyed it and have a great summer. Signing out–

OREA: Amy Orea.

GONZALEZ: and Kristen Gonzalez. Bye!