Mrs. Rachel Barbiaux recently joined the Independence school district as the Career Counselor to help with career exploration among students who are trying to find a path for their future.
Barbiaux attended Brown University for an undergraduate in Anthropology and French. She then went on to get her Master of Business Administration at the Tech School of Business at Dartmouth in New Hampshire.
Barbiaux first started her career not in a high school, but in a college environment. “I worked in career development at Tri-C at the Westlake campus.” she explained. Barbiaux said it was a “little bit of a shift for me just because my audience is a little bit different.” She does love helping all types of people in finding out what type of career they want to explore in their future, she added.
Barbiaux first wanted her career to be in marketing and advertising. “I started out my career working in New York City, working at a big advertising agency. And then I moved on to the client side, and I worked at Tiffany and Company. I worked at a ski resort in Vermont, and then I worked at a big winery out in California.” Barbiaux as she explained her career journey through marketing and advertising. She then took a long break from her work to focus on her personal life and family. “I took a 12 year career pause to raise my boys. I have three boys,” Barbiaux stated about her family.
When Barbiaux decided to go back to work, she realized that her work as a marketer and advertiser did not fit well into her current lifestyle with her family and wanted to find another career path. “I wanted to be able to use my efforts or my previous experience to be able to help others. And so that’s how I came to career development, and I really love it,” Barbiaux said.
And when it comes to advice for picking you career, Barbiaux says, “Keep your mind open. Don’t be afraid to explore possibilities that you hadn’t considered for yourself or that you maybe didn’t think were feasible. And don’t hesitate to ask for help.”
Students can find Barbiaux in her office in Room 121 on the cafeteria hallway near Mrs. Krysiak’s room.
