River View eighth graders enjoy Career Exploration Day
COSHOCTON – On Friday Feb. 6, River View eighth graders participated in a Career Exploration Day. Students were given the opportunity to tour McWane Ductile, formerly CLOW Water Systems, and Annin Flagmakers. During the tours, students were introduced to a factory working environment, provided insights into work-related skills, and the processes involved in producing the products each factory provides. Teachers and students who participated in the tours indicated that each tour was well prepared, quite informative and an excellent experience for the students. River View Schools wants to publically thank those businesses for opening their factories to their students. Spending time in the working environments was only part of the adventure. The second half of the day, River View partnered with the Coshocton County Career Center and local professionals to provide the students with an opportunity to explore careers on a more personal level.
Prior to attending the Career Exploration Event at the Coshocton County Career Center (CCCC), the eighth grade students were given a career profile assessment to ascertain fields of interest for each student. After compiling the data, the students were placed into three out of the thirteen fields of study available in which they would attend on Friday. Local community leaders and business professionals were invited to hold roundtable discussions with the students to provide insights and answer questions about career opportunities. Partnering with the Career Center provided an opportunity for the eighth graders to see some of the skills in action and an introduction to the programs available at CCCC.
Throughout the day, 160 eighth-grade students sat with these local volunteers to gather insights into what lies before them. Students found answers to questions about the typical day of a judge, the educational levels needed for working in different levels of the medical profession, different types of jobs involved in each field of study, and many more. Students discovered that Coshocton, Ohio has more to offer than they thought. As the students were leaving the Career Center to load busses to go back to River View, one of them said, “That was an awesome day”. Presenters mentioned that this seemed to be a great opportunity for them to get involved with the students, and the small groups, two to ten students, allowed for good discussions and opportunities for students to ask questions. Getting eighth graders to ask questions and think about their careers is a difficult task because most are so unsure of what they want to do. However, this was an opportunity to explore, learn from those involved in the jobs, and discover the good, bad and even the ugly of certain career choices. River View Schools wishes to thank all of those who volunteered to participate. They realize taking time off of work is not an easy task, so they appreciate all of the support for this program. River View also wants to thank CCCC for opening their building, providing lunch for the presenters and assisting with organizing the day. They would like to extend a special thanks to Coshocton CARES representative, Lynn Hill, for her assistance in making this day a success.
Doug Nagle, Coshocton Career Center School Counselor, stated that the River View eighth grade visitation day at the Career Center was a great experience for their students, staff and community career presenters. Anytime we can bring our young people together with labor and business representatives to discuss their future plans and dreams, it is time well spent for our country. The students were able to explore and learn from people in their field(s) of interest and discover or confirm if they would enjoy pursuing a career in that particular area.
Category: Education
