FERRIDAY &8212; Ariana Knoten learned most of what she needs to know about becoming a pediatrician from a lawyer Friday.

Of course they didn&8217;t get into the specifics of medically caring for babies, but those are just details in the grand scheme.

&8220;Set your goals; get your own vision of who you are,&8221; Johnell Matthews told Knoten&8217;s class at Ferriday Junior High School.

&8220;Don&8217;t make excuses for yourself. If you never set a goal, you may never reach a goal.&8221;

Matthews, a Clayton native now working as an attorney in Baton Rouge, was one of several speakers at the FJHS career day.

Knoten, 12, knows her goal &8212; pediatrics.

But she has some worries along the way, she told Matthews and the rest of the class.

&8220;What if someone sets their goals and they don&8217;t achieve them,&8221; Knoten asked.

The lesson from Matthews was simple &8212; don&8217;t give up, regroup and try again.

Matthews encouraged the seventh-graders to look beyond their surroundings and realize that nothing can hold them back.

&8220;It doesn&8217;t matter where you are from, there is something good in you,&8221; she said.

&8220;You were not put on this Earth by accident. God blessed you to be here.&8221;

And from Knoten&8217;s dream of being a pediatrician to classmate Megan Stigall&8217;s plans to be an actress, everything is possible with the right attitude, Matthews said.

Matthews&8217; daughter, Chrystal, who is also a lawyer, Ferriday Alderman Jerome Harris, Mayor Gene Allen and Judge Leo Boothe were some of the other career day speakers at the school.