December was the Month of the Arts in RKYHS, and as part of the programming, students had the opportunity to learn about many of the different careers available in the arts. RKYHS hosted artists in residence during lunch and several of the guest speakers stayed to address the 11th and 12th grade studio art classes as well.

The guest speakers each spoke of their career paths, current roles, education, showed examples of their work and answered questions to the inquiring students. On Monday, they heard from Rob Wagner, a parent in the school and an architect. On Tuesday, they were visited by Shira Reiz, also a parent in the school, and an interior designer. Wednesday’s guest was Estee Wagner, an alum of RKYHS (Class of 2017) and currently a junior in Binghamton University studying art. Thursday they heard from Jenn Adler, art director at JKHS/ RKYHS where she handles all of the in house graphic design needs of the school. All of the speakers were well received and appreciated. The studio class also spent some time discussing what careers could benefit from an art background, listing over 60 careers that could be enhanced using art.