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Career Exploration
Career Exploration at AFS
Preparing Students for Life
At Abington Friends School, we believe education should not only prepare students for college—but for life.
Our Career Exploration Programs offer students in Grades 10 and 11 immersive, hands-on experiences that connect classroom learning to real-world careers. Through direct engagement with professionals, site visits, and skill-building workshops, students gain insight into potential paths and the confidence to pursue them.
These programs are designed to spark curiosity, deepen understanding, and help students imagine—and begin shaping—their future.
How it Works
Career Exploration at AFS is about more than just choosing a job—it’s about discovering interests, practicing agency, and building a sense of purpose. These programs equip students with real-world insight, professional connections, and the confidence to take their next steps with clarity and conviction.
- Eligibility: Open to students in Grades 10 and 11.
- Application Process: Students submit a brief application and preferences in the spring for the following academic year.
- Structure: Programs meet about 10 times throughout the academic year.
- Advisors: Each program is supported by faculty mentors who guide students through exploration and reflection.
“LawEx reinforced my confidence to pursue a career in law, specifically as a lawyer/attorney. I found immense satisfaction in hearing about the daily lives of the professionals we talked to. Also, I found great interest in the court cases and situations that the professionals regularly navigate. I pictured myself dealing with the same problems and completing the same day-to-day tasks.”
— 10th grade LawEx participant
"I have always dreamed of being a pediatrician. [MedEx] was really enticing, and it made me even more interested in the medical field."
- 10th Grade MedEx participant
Program Highlights
ArtEx
Students explore the visual and performing arts by meeting with professionals across fields. Site visits include a scene shop and a film studio.
InnovEx
A program designed to expose students to careers across engineering and technology fields, students meet with cybersecurity professionals, research and development teams and several different types of engineers. This cohort visited the Google Headquarters in New York.
MedEx
Students delve into the worlds of medical and health sciences by meeting nurses, physicians, pharmacists, physical therapists and more. Working with our local first responders, students learn emergency first aid and visit a rehabilitation hospital.
BizEx
An introduction to careers in business and finance, students meet entrepreneurs, CEOs, accountants, and more. Site visits include real estate firms and a local safety materials manufacturing company.
LabEx
To explore career opportunities in the laboratory sciences, students learn alongside microbiologists, pharmacologists and patent agents. This includes a visit to the Wistar Institute as well as conducting experiments at Fox Chase Cancer Center.
MindEx
With the goal of learning more about careers related to psychology and neuroscience, students have the opportunity to meet therapists, neurologists, and psychiatric nurse practitioners. MindEx students visit a therapy practice.
ChefEx
For our students interested in the culinary arts, students meet with experts in areas such as restaurant management, pastry, and catering. Site visits include Reading Terminal Market and volunteering at People’s Kitchen.
LawEx
A study of law and government careers, LawEx students meet different types of lawyers, paralegals, judges and legislators. Students observe hearings in the local district court and watch legislative sessions from the gallery of the Pennsylvania Capitol.
SportEx
Learning more about careers in athletics and fitness, SportEx participants meet with experts in sports medicine, sports management, and those involved in sales and marketing elements of athletics. Site visits include a trip to New York to visit league offices.
Collaborating Collegiate Institutions
Arcadia University
Drexel University
LaSalle Business School
Harvard Business School
Penn State Abington
St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia College of Pharmacy
Rowan University
Rutgers Law School
Salus University, Drexel
Temple University
University of Pennsylvania
Villanova University
Walnut Hill College