8th and 9th Grade Job Shadowing

“I want two hamburgers and a chicken sandwich to go”…but wait, that’s DJ Norton working at Joe’s Market. Why she’s supposed to be in school…not today because she is participating in the Groundhog Job Shadowing Program.  She was one of the thirty three students from Whitmire Community School who participated in the statewide initiative to get middle and high school students to experience actual career opportunities.  If you’re wondering who the young lady under the hydraulic lift at D&D Automotive is, take a closer look and you’ll see that underneath the grease marks is Shelby Dickert.  On the other hand, Kristin Hunt decided that she   didn’t want to get dirty, so she dressed ever so professionally to assist Betty Thompson in the PreK program at Whitmire Community School.   We had fifteen students who chose WCS as their job shadowing site this time. Those students job shadowed teachers and coaches to help determine if teaching is a viable career choice for them.

On Friday, February 4, 2011, WCS had students working in the Victim’s Advocate Office, Office of the Deputy Coroner, SmartStyle Salon in Newberry, the US Forest Service, the Newberry County Sheriff’s Department, the SC Housing Authority, Palmetto Bone and Joint, Dalton Trucking, Harold Hunter Logging, Department of Defense, Keenan’s Barber Shop in Union, South Middle School in Lancaster, Cheap Chuck’s Tires in Columbia, and Milliken-Judson in Greenville.

We have two students who were unable to schedule their job shadowing on Feb. 4 and will be participating in the program on February 10 and 11.  One of these students, who is interested in archaeology, will be working with Jakob Crockett at the Historic Columbia Foundation.  The other student will be shadowing Heather O’dell at Mental Health in Newberry.

Thanks to all the teachers, agency heads, and business owners who make experiences such as this possible for our students.  It is our responsibility to prepare our students; and the best way to make that happen is not through virtual experiences but those REAL life experiences.  It is our hope that more students will take advantage of experiences such as these.