The Harraseeket Foundation

06/13/2025

At Harraseeket, our volunteers recently led inspiring conversations with 9th and 10th graders in the College Partnership Program (CPP), helping them envision their futures. ✨
From dream jobs to family life, hobbies, and goals; students reflected on what matters most and how college is an essential part of that journey. 💬🎓
We asked:
💡“When you think about your future, what do you dream about?”
💡“If you were to picture your ideal future, what would be some important elements included in the picture?”
💡“To help you frame your thoughts, think about what your future looks like in terms of work life, family life, volunteering, and hobbies and Interests? What obstacles do you face?”
Lets keep encouraging the youth to dream big and plan boldly.

06/05/2025

35 students. 8 inspiring careers. Countless life lessons.

Our recent animated Q&A brought together students and an incredible panel of professionals—actors, lawyers, educators, nonprofit leaders, researchers, government workers, and tech innovators, sharing stories of their experiences, lessons, challenges and powerful advice.
From first jobs to mentors, the students got a front-row seat to real-world wisdom.

What’s one thing you wish you’d known in high school?

05/28/2025

When creativity meets purpose, amazing things happen.

What happens when students come together to explore their strengths and interests? Something amazing.
Thirty-eight 9th and 10th graders, with support from Harraseeket volunteers, explored their personal strengths and interests through engaging group work. They tackled powerful questions like what the world needs from them, and then brought their answers to life using Play-Doh. The results? Pure magic

Here’s what they discussed,

“Given our group’s combined strengths and interests, what is something the world needs from us collectively?”

05/17/2025

We’re thrilled to share some exciting news!!!Harraseeket has been awarded a grant from the
Community Foundation for Northern Virginia!
This incredible support will amplify our impact and help us reach even more lives in meaningful ways. We’re so grateful for this partnership and we can’t wait to share more of our journey with you.
Read all about it here: https://www.harraseeketfoundation.org/news

07/17/2024

The Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce just featured our work in their Business Podcast! Angela Inzerillo chats with Steve Parker about the impact of our new "Imagining Your Future" program, involving mentoring, workshops and at-work experiences. They also discuss how Northern Virginia employers of all sizes and types, including nonprofits and government employers, can get involved by mentoring, offering at-work experiences (internships, shadowing, part-time work and informational interviews), volunteering and donating to support our cause!

We're thrilled to welcome Steve Parker of the Harraseeket Foundation back to the Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce's Business Focus Podcast!👏Listen to our ...

05/24/2024

We were delighted that Steve Parker could represent The Harraseeket Foundation in a panel discussion at an amazing event this week for c-suite education and business executives. The focus was on re-imagining the workforce development experience and contributing to student post-secondary success. The panel featured Dr. Michelle Reid, Division Superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools and five companies and nonprofits, including Harraseeket, that support students.

The executives heard about Harraseeket’s work since expanding to Fairfax County Public Schools last year, helping hundreds of students at Herndon High School imagine their future -- workshops and fairs involving scores of employers and volunteers; mentoring; and at-work experiences.

Congratulations to Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax County Economic Development Authority and Educate Fairfax for organizing this event, which inspired the business community to deepen its commitment to changing students’ lives!

05/29/2020

Today we hosted, with Career Exploration Group, a webinar for community high school students on choosing a Major. Students from Langley, Woodbridge, Eleanor Roosevelt, McLean and Frederick Douglas, along with a few parents, attended this program. The topic was described this way:

"Planning on applying to college soon but not sure how to answer the question, What do you want to major in? Deciding on a major can feel stressful, but it doesn’t have to be! It’s simply a matter of doing some personal exploration to figure out what motivates you in life. What are you really good at? What do you care about in the world? We’ll tackle these questions and more in this webinar and help you begin building a pathway to a future that’s fulfilling, interesting and meaningful!"

Students engaged in a different exercises, including creating and organizing post-it notes to learn about their preferences. Here is a picture of what post-it notes doing this exercise look like.

Thanks to Leslie Speidel at Career Exploration group for leading a really great program!

05/27/2020

In February, Harraseeket hosted a 3 hour vocation fair for Fairfax County, Virginia high school students and their parents. The fair was designed to encourage conversations about making more informed vocation decisions. We had students from a wide variety of high schools, including Langley, McLean, Marshall, Oakton, Centreville, Robert E Lee, Virginia Virtual Academy and Cedar Lane, and home-schooled students.

Five different break-out sessions and a lunch panel focused on a variety of topics, led by 23 adults who shared reflections on the paths they’ve travelled and the lessons they’ve learned. Panelists included three guidance counselors, a financial planner, and eight young adults with a variety of life experiences and fascinating careers.

Here's what one participant said: “[K]eep up the great work! This is so helpful for our youth, and I wish I had it available to me when I was going through the process many moons ago. I think it’s very valuable to help them see that they have access to a wider network than they may realize at first. Religious and social communities (peer friendships, parents’ friends) can allow them to extend their network of knowledge and experience.”

See more. including more comments from participants, at harraseeketfoundation.org/events/.

Upcoming Events DECIDING ON A MAJOR – – A WEBINAR FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS Friday, May 29 2-3 PM EDT Planning on applying to college soon but not sure how to answer the question, What do you want to major in? Deciding on a major can feel stressful, but it doesn’t have to be! It’s simply a ma...