Counselor wants to revive Uniontown job shadowing program

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

After a two-year hiatus, the USD 235 Board of Education will be considering the restart of a job shadowing program.

During the Oct. 10 meeting of the USD 235 BOE, Uniontown Junior-Senior High School Counselor Jeannie Camac proposed the idea of restarting a senior job shadowing program that was shut down at the end of the 2009-2010 school year. The program, which is designed to allow seniors to spend a day in a field they are considering as a career, was under the Family and Consumer Sciences department before it was discontinued.

During a phone interview Tuesday, Camac said the program will be student-generated -- youngsters will contact businesses or organizations and the school will work out the details, such as legal documentation and filling out the proper paperwork. She said they will try to keep the participation as local as possible. Students will be responsible for their own transportation to and from the one-day experience.

The proposed resurrection of the program came after a student expressed an interest in the plastics engineering field and Camac asked the youngster if they would be willing to shadow her son, who works as a plastics engineer in Cherryvale. Once word got out, more students approached her about possible job shadowing.

Being a counselor, Camac has seen the impact of having a clear goal and direction after leaving high school. The program especially benefits kids who are undecided about a career, or don't have much information about a certain field.

"So many of (the students) will think, 'I want a job that is going to make me money,'" she said. "But they don't have a clue what all it takes to get into (a particular) program, what it entails, (or) how much schooling it's going to take. So if they can actually talk to somebody in that particular field and learn from them, that's going to be much better than me telling them."

While shadowing a professional, students will be able to get a handle on what it takes to get to that point. Youngsters will learn things such as the physical demands of the job, the hours, the starting and potential salary, what schooling is needed and what is expected in the job.

Camac said students are more likely to listen to someone in their field of interest than her because she does not have the experience in that area.

"(The students) are going to zoom in on that because that's what they think they want to do," she said.

Carmac said it is better for students to have an idea of what their career goals are before entering college, rather than moving on to higher education and still being undecided about the future.

"I would much rather they (change their mind) now than get in and get into a program and get half-way through it and realize, 'this isn't what I want,'" she said. "If they can have a better idea going into college, then that's going to be more beneficial to them."

As of right now, Camac said there are about 10-15 students interested in the shadowing program.

Youngsters have expressed interest in areas ranging from plastics engineering and nursing to teaching. If the program is approved, she said more students will show interest next year.

"I think it will be small this year and then after this year, when the students find out that it's eligible for them ... I think it will increase," she said.

Camac has been getting information and advice from surrounding schools with similar programs and will make another presentation to the BOE during their Nov. 14 meeting.

The board is expected to make a decision at that meeting.