Daleville students, teachers inspired by Wiregrass WORKS

The first-ever Wiregrass WORKS Career Experience was held Feb. 24-25 in Dothan and 60 out of 80 Daleville eighth graders elected to participate in the event that was held at the National Peanut Festival Fairgrounds. Students, teachers and administrators from Daleville were thrilled with the event and are looking forward to more in the coming years.

WORKS stands for Workforce Opportunity Requires Knowledge and Skills. The event was sponsored by the nonprofit Workforce Council of Alabama Region 10 Inc.

Some 4,500-plus eight graders from area private, public and home schools attended the inaugural event which included interactive opportunities with professionals in more than 80 career fields including agriculture, aviation, construction, healthcare, law enforcement, logistics, manufacturing and public service. Students were even able to participate in mock surgeries with medical simulators and dummy “patients.”

“It is extremely important for eighth graders to be exposed to careers that they can work towards in high school. They will have the chance to choose a course of study through high school that can prepare them for their desired future,” explained Daleville High School Principal Josh Robertson. “Working towards a desired outcome through school can keep the students focused and interested throughout their educational experience.”

Upon arriving, students were issued a passport and an inventory list to take to each career station visited. The students’ guidebooks directed them to explore at least five different career fields and answer questions about those careers, such as what the student liked the most about the job field; what challenges would be involved in the occupation; the education level needed to attain a position in the profession; the pay that would be expected for such a job; and what the student can do currently to begin preparing for the career field.

Ana Mendez, DHS guidance counselor, echoes Robertson in terms of the importance of career exposure for the junior high students as they prepare to begin their four-year high school time. “One of the reasons this is so important, that they need to know this now, is we are going to be working on a four-year plan (according to the degree/career they choose)…It is expected…that by the year 2020 that every child in the state of Alabama will graduate college or career ready…”

Mendez said the students were given definitions of the different career fields and the training needed for each. She also said the students complete an interest inventory (three total) at the school with a computerized career planning system to help guide the students and the counselors in making individual four-year plans for high school. Grades and levels of courses are also strongly considered in the process.

Skylan Williams, 13, said,  “I wanted to see what I wanted to do with my life and what college I might want to go to and what career. Before I went I thought it would be us just sitting down in the building and them telling us about different jobs…When I got there, it is hard to explain. It was pretty cool. It was a really great experience.”

Williams said she is planning a career in medicine as a pediatrician and found the healthcare areas were, in fact, her favorite. “I learned how to do CPR on adults and babies. I got to see how to check hearts and vital signs. They did surgeries (on dummies). It was pretty cool,”  she said, adding that she liked the medical area so much that she could not name a second choice as a favorite.

Casey Christian, 14, was pleasantly surprised to find that the experience was much more than she anticipated. She said she thought students would only be hearing about career fields, not actually experience parts of different careers. “Whoa!” was her response when asked her opinion of the total experience.

Surprisingly, Christian said she found that she was most interested in mechanics, specifically diesel mechanics and working with the big 18-wheeler tractor-trailers.

“I got to watch a video and put a gear together,” she said. “My Nanna and granddaddy drove trucks.”

Christian said the nursing field also piqued her interest, especially learning cardio pulmonary resuscitation on adults and babies. “It was awesome because now I know how to save my family’s lives, including my baby cousins.” She said she is not sure which field interests her the most yet, but wants to learn more about both.

Eighth grade English instructor Julane Pettis said she thought the entire event was wonderful and the students got a lot out of it. She hopes they can take the students earlier in the day next year so they have longer to spend on career exploration.

Math teacher Daniel Powell said he saw his students’ eyes light up throughout the WORKS event and thought it was a great way for his students to tie in what they learn in the classroom with the real working world.

“They saw how they can use geometry, problem-solving, calculations and all the stuff like that in every field…I hope we do this every single year,” Powell said. “The students were so excited. They saw the cool stuff that they can do…It opened their eyes to what’s out there for them…”