"First, I want you to cover your eyes with your hands," Carrie Skym said to Mno Grant Elementary students last Friday. "Now imagine not being able to see every day of your life."

Skym, one of the speakers at the school's annual Career Day, then introduced Oak, a golden Labrador retriever in training to become a seeing eye dog. When he was 8 weeks old, Oak went to live with a family that provided basic obedience training for about a year, then Skym took over and began teaching him guide work.

Oak's powers of concentration were demonstrated by having Emma Weyrauch, 6, wave her arms and shout in an attempt to distract him. Oak moved only once but that was to lick her hand in approval - what a pro.

Skym provided each classroom with a packet of information on guide dogs for the blind that included fun activities for the students.

"Sometimes it can be kind of a challenge to raise a guide dog, but it can also be rewarding," said Skym. "I think Career Day is a great idea. It's really for the kids, and it's good for them to know what jobs are out there."

During the day, students were also visited by inventor Mike Stull, caterer Daisy Rodrigues, restaurant owner Kristina Ardebili, construction workers Craig Graifman and Derek Holmberg, landscaper David Cummings, paramedic and firefighter Dave Bianco, attorney David Lederman, Pampered Chef representative Julie Young, beauty care manager Derek Baker and chemical engineer Dave Backlund.

"We really want to bring the community to the schools and expose the children to various careers," said teacher Katie Kelley, who organized the event along with Veronica Dyson and Dallas Burney.

"The kids really look forward to this every year," said Kelley, "and it's going great."