May 12, 2025
By Farah Afifi
Staff Writer
Fifteen members of the Wonder Girls Club, an organization that promotes women’s empowerment and leadership, participated in the Fourth Annual Career Expo at Berkeley College in Woodland Park on April 4.
There, the attendees, who were from 10 New Jersey middle and high schools, participated in a workshop led by Wonder Girls cofounders Natalie Maniscalco and Irene Robles, who discussed networking, professionalism and self-assurance.
Additionally, attendees heard presentations from three other guest speakers, and seniors were offered free headshot photos to post on their LinkedIn employment-oriented social media accounts or use in other professional settings.
During the main event, attendees met representatives from 26 New Jersey- and New York-based companies. To practice networking, they were required hito obtain signatures from 10 professionals they had spoken to.
Senior Rina Tishuk, who is the club’s middle school liaison, said she especially enjoyed meeting Stefanie Shore, a nurse practitioner and public speaker.
“She gave me really good information because I want to go into nursing,” Tishuk said. “She offered to answer any questions that I had.”
“It gives [us] the opportunity to network with people [we] would have never met outside of Wonder Girls.”
In March, Tishuk found out she would be receiving the $1,500 Wonder Girls’ 2025 Women’s History Month Scholarship, which was based on an application essay, resume and letter of recommendation.
“When [club advisor] Mrs. Silvelo called me down with [school counselor] Mrs. Archila, I was so happy and not expecting that at all,” Tishuk said.
Junior Carley Paserchia said she is glad she decided to attend the Career Expo.
“It opened my mind to the different opportunities [and] ways [I] could get into different types of careers,” Paserchia said.
Paserchia, who aspires to become an elementary school teacher, said it was helpful to talk to accomplished adults with real-world experience.
“If you’re undecided or if you’re just looking at different things that you might want to do or might not want to do, getting insight from some of these professionals might help you narrow it down,” Paserchia said.
Junior Joely Ferreras, who is the administrative secretary of the Wonder Girls Club, said she attended the Career Expo to expose herself to various careers and find out which colleges and universities offer related majors.
“I’m not 100% sure what I want to do as a career yet, [but I may] want to do something with marketing and business, and I would also like to do something with [event] planning,” Ferreras said.
She said she was surprised by how important it is to present oneself well to prospective employers at a job interview.
“I always think about it as the things that you say [being] what impresses them the most. I learned a lot about body language and confidence,” Ferreras said.
She said the Career Expo was a valuable experience.
“It gives [us] the opportunity to network with people [we] would have never met outside of Wonder Girls,” said Ferreras.
