GAINESVILLE — Retirees spoke of their careers and advised area high school students on how to pursue theirs during the third annual Will Jackson Junior Achievers Meet Senior Achievers.

The meeting took place Wednesday at Lanier Village Estates, a retirement community of more than 500 residents at 4000 Village View Drive in North Hall.

The Junior Achievement initiative involved students from West Hall, North Hall, Chestatee and Johnson high schools and about 15 Lanier Village residents.

Resident Will Jackson, who was unable to attend last week’s event, founded the program.

"We’re very proud to have a panel of residents that will be speaking to all of you today," said Carrie Meadows, Lanier Village administrator.

"They have a wealth of knowledge and experience to offer to you, and we hope that each of you will be able to take a piece of that with you ... and that you will be able to use it in your future."

Residents shared wisdom on a variety of careers, including the military, education, medical and engineering.

One resident, Joe Iannarone, spoke on "The ABCs of A Successful Career."

"A lot of people think of success in terms of material things — a new house or car," he said. "Some people think of success as an accomplishment, such as a teacher who ... finally gets a student to understand Algebra II."

Iannarone went on to say, "We define success as achieving a sustained high level of interest in your work and being satisfied and proud of what you do over a long period of time."

He said that "most of us get paid because we perform a service or make a product."

Iannarone cautioned that people need to know the requirements of what they would like to do and whether they would be able to meet them.

"There’s a big difference between a dream and the reality of where you want to be, and that difference is like a toll road," he said. "You’ve got to pay the toll as you go from one place to the other."

Iannarone told the students "you’ve already the paid toll" by attending high school and taking tests.

He spoke of his own work life. He earned a college degree in chemistry and went on to work for DuPont, science-based products and services company, where he took on different jobs, including one assignment that landed him in Taiwan.

"You have to be flexible because you don’t know where that road is going to lead," Iannarone said.

"... Don’t be too specific about trying to select a career. Try to select something in an area that you might be interested in, because it will develop as you go along."

Haines Hill, a retired Army officer, talked about military service. He discussed pay and pension, as well as travel and furthering education.

"You get to see the world and literally I did that," he said. "I got to see Vietnam. I got to see Korea. And I got to see Germany, and I saw a lot of places in the United States."

After presentations by the residents, the retirees and students broke into individual group sessions to talk more specifically about careers and other work-related issues.

Regions Bank provided lunch.

Casey Wood, 16, a junior at North Hall High, said he appreciated the guidance.

"It was great," he said. "They showed us about how much meaning there is to a career. It’s not just about working and getting paid. ... You got to love what you do."