Ellie Gordon appeared comfortable sitting at her mom’s desk, twirling around in a chair and talking to her mom’s coworkers. It was a different atmosphere for the 6-year-old girl, who was spending the day with her mom at Oakland Family Services on April 25 as part of Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day.

Ellie was excited to be with her mom, Shannon, a lead service coordinator/evaluator for Early On, a program that provides early intervention services for infants and toddlers with developmental delays.

“My mom works on her computer,” Ellie explained. “She does home visits and checks on babies.”

While Ellie was interested in hanging out with mom at work, the first grader made it clear that she doesn’t plan to follow in her mom’s footsteps. She wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up. She already is getting hands-on practice at home with three cats and two dogs.

“I feed them, and I let them go potty outside,” she said proudly.

Aria Mercadante, who also participated in Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day, has other plans for her future.

“I want to serve ice cream,” she announced proudly.

The 5-year-old, whose favorite flavor of ice cream is vanilla, said she is interested in a career in the dairy industry “because I want to make money.”

Aria enjoyed being at work with her mother, Valerie Mercadante, development and engagement coordinator at Oakland Family Services.

“My mom goes to meetings, and she works on her computer,” Aria explained.

Oakland Family Services was happy to host the children of staff members and even made the kids their own “employee badges” to commemorate the special day!

On the fourth Thursday of each April, more than 37 million Americans at over 3.5 million workplaces participate in Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day, according to Forbes magazine.