A sampling of top businesswomen, all with local ties, all shared tips for career success Tuesday morning as part of Lehighton Area High School’s second annual women’s symposium.

The symposium, according to Principal Craig Reichl, is an appropriate way for the district to kick off women’s history month, taking place in March.“If there are two things I hope the students take away from this, it’s that if you have a passion about what you do, like all of these women do, then it doesn’t really feel like going to work each day,” Reichl said.“It can still be difficult, but these women never gave up on their dreams, and I hope our students pick up on that. The other thing is the inequality that still exists in the workplace between men and women.”Reichl said women make about 75 percent of what men do while working the same jobs.With a daughter at home, that statistic still exists in 2017 appalls him.“It should appall the students as well,” Reichl said. “I’m really hopeful we can get past that with this generation.”Panelists for Tuesday’s symposium included Alicia Smith, community liaison for Seton Manor Inc. in Orwigsburg; Gretchen Sterns, president of the law office of Gretchen Coles Sterns LLC; Casey Noble, project manager with Liberty Property Trust; Emily Yeager, college recruiter for Google; Alicia Kline, executive director of the nonprofit Turn To Us; MaryJo King, buyer agent for the Jim Christman Team of Keller Williams Real Estate in Palmerton; Caitlyn Ebling, funeral director; and Elissa Garofalo, Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor president.Each presenter spoke to students about the path that led them to where they are today and how that road changes through the years.A common theme throughout was developing relationships early and often.“If you find a profession you want to get into, spend as much time around the people in that profession as possible,” Sterns told students. “Speak to the people in that field and get a feel for what they do.”MentorsGrabbing an internship when available, many of the women said, is often the best way to get in on the ground floor with a company.If you have the opportunity to be mentored by someone in the field, you can’t replace that experience,” Garofalo said.That strategy worked for Yeager, who interned at Boston-area startup ITA Software, which would later be acquired by Google.“Working at Google was my dream job, and I’m getting to live that out every day,” said Yeager, who helps match software engineering interns with compelling projects.Getting startedMany of Tuesday’s panelists didn’t end up in the career they initially envisioned.Kline, for example, was always enamored with forensics and a dream job in Miami-Dade County got away from her with one polygraph question.“We were asked about drug use and there was an instance where I had kissed a guy who was smoking pot and he blew the smoke in my mouth,” Kline said.“I knew I had to be honest with them on the polygraph, but that one situation kept me from getting the job. What you do now and what you do in college will come back to haunt you.”Kline went on to a career with the New Jersey State Police and would later start a nonprofit in Jim Thorpe, which helps people impacted by a major illness.“While my first love was chemistry and science, I love what I do now giving back to the community,” Kline said. “Don’t be afraid of change if it will make you happy.”Once a paraprofessional in Parkland Area School District’s special education department, King became a stay-at-home mom when her second son was born.After 14 years at home, she jumped at the chance to become a real estate agent.“The job was appealing because of its flexibility and I love bringing new people into this community that I love so much,” King said. “It felt great to contribute financially to our household in a way I wasn’t before.”Open to changeChange was also the name of the game for Noble.A love for horses and skiing led her to a college in Colorado, but she quickly learned that the area didn’t match the fast-paced life she craved.After moving back east, she climbed the chain from administrative assistant to project manager with her current firm and has recently overseen projects including a 1.7 million-square-foot Proctor and Gamble warehouse.“Get your foot in the door and then show them what you can do from there,” Noble told students. “Take the word ‘no’ out of your vocabulary and be a part of any projects you can.”Smith spoke of the ever-changing nature of her job as a community liaison for a nursing and rehabilitation facility.“The exciting part is you never know where the day will lead,” Smith said.Ebling, meanwhile, attended Northampton Community College for three years and touted the education she received.“Just because it is a community college, don’t cross it off the list,” she told students.As a funeral director, she knows the importance of leaving emotions at the door after the workday.“We see everyone from infants to older people in our line of work,” Ebling said. “You can’t take that home with you.”Around 100 students attended the presentation.Tuesday’s symposium was an event coordinated by the high school’s schoolwide positive behavior team.