Students get tips on careers, counseling from business leaders ...

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Bandys High School senior Autumn Edwards talks about her plans for college during the Career Prep Conference on Wednesday.

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By: By Skip Marsden | Hickory Daily Record
Published: October 10, 2012 Updated: October 10, 2012 - 6:11 PM

lmarsden@hickoryrecord.com

HICKORY ? Close to 130 high school seniors from the three Catawba County districts attended the second Education Matters Career Prep Conference at Catawba Valley Community College on Wednesday.

?This is an opportunity for high school seniors who have been a part of the Education Matters pilot group to meet with our business community and learn what it takes to get a career in our area,? said Tracy Hall, Director of Education Matters in Catawba County.

Selected as 10th graders to participate in the Education Matters pilot program in 2010, students converged in the Multipurpose Complex on campus for the half-day event. They participated in workshops and career activities; had mock interviews; talked to representatives from Hickory Young Professionals; and browsed booths set up by local colleges and universities to highlight unique training opportunities.

Hall worked with the career and technical education directors in each district to identify 100 students from each district to participate. ?If you were a 10th grader sitting in a seat in a CTE class, you were part of the group. That way we had male students, female students, diversity, the high achievers, the kids with various program interests. It gave us a good, diverse group that way,? she said.

Todd Ashworth organized talk sessions between groups of students and members of Hickory Young Professionals. HYP is designed to build and encourage the young professional community in Catawba County. Ashworth said of the EM conference and efforts, ?We?re trying to encourage them to stay in school, set a career path, and give them some good advice we wish we might have had when we were in high school.?

Ian Oliver, a Maiden High School senior, said of the conference, ?I think it?s a very beneficial program. It helps kids to get that information that they don?t normally get from a high school, kind of the unsaid information. Things like how to just communicate and start a conversation with the business executive, trying to apply for a job. Kids don?t get that information in the math class or in English class. I think it?s really beneficial being able to get tips like this.?

In one part of the day, students sat down for one-to-one mock interviews with adults from the working world. One interviewer.

?I think [the students] have so many skill sets that are hidden that they haven?t figured out the way to bring it out of themselves yet,? said Mary Kay Rayfield, human resources manager for Hickory Springs. ?I talked to one young lady that is bilingual, and she didn?t realize she needed to put that on her resume. I explained to her that especially in today?s marketplace being bilingual is a tremendous asset, and that she needed to make sure that she tapped in on that one skill set everywhere she goes and make sure that they?re aware that she has that skill set.?

In the first year of the program, students study and take a practice assessment for the WorkKeys test. WorkKeys was developed by ACT for business and industry, and successful completion earns the North Carolina Career Readiness Certificate, required by many area businesses.

Students also begin to put together a career and college-ready portfolio that includes a resume, a cover letter, career goals, awards and achievements plus their extra-curricular activities. During their senior year when the portfolio is completed, they participate in the Career Prep Conference, and take the WorkKeys test.

?I know a lot of my friends who applying to other colleges and they are scrambling to get everything together, and I have everything organized,? said Autumn Edwards, a Bandys High School senior. ?I?ve shown them my portfolio. I take it to every class, and they see it, and they ask what it is and I describe the activities that we?ve done (in the EM pilot program) and they?re like ?That would make everything so much simpler.? I?m real excited because I do believe the 10th graders are going to start the program this year.?

Hall said beginning this year every student in Catawba County will be getting the benefits of coming to a Career Prep conference. They will be doing the Career Readiness Certification (CRC) through WorkKeys testing. Every student will graduate with a high school diploma and a CRC beginning in 2015.

Education Matters in Catawba Valley is an initiative of Catawba Valley Community College.

Source: http://www2.hickoryrecord.com/news/2012/oct/10/students-get-tips-careers-counseling-business-lead-ar-2682565/

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