Area 8th-graders shadow workers
Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Drawing blood, making used cars shine and dismantling $68 million aircraft are among the jobs area eighth-graders caught a glimpse of as they toured local businesses for Tuesday's annual Groundhog Job Shadow Day.
A national event sponsored locally by the Elizabeth City Area Chamber of Commerce, Job Shadow Day exposes students to different occupations and the skills needed to excel at them. This year, five sites hosted dozens of students from Pasquotank and Camden counties. Business tours were held at Albemarle Hospital, Albemarle Family YMCA/College of The Albemarle Allied Health Center, Biggs Pontiac, Elizabeth City State University and DRS Technologies.
 Brett A. Clark/Daily Advance |
| DRS, Technologies Deputy General Manager (center) talks to Elizabeth City Middle School's Jacquan Respass, 14, and other 8th-graders who visited to learn about local jobs Tuesday. |
 Brett A. Clark/Daily Advance |
| Coast Guard Lt. Michael Rasch shows Elizabeth City Middle School 8th-graders the cock-pit of a C-130 at DRS, Technologies during their visit to learn about local jobs Tuesday. |
 Brett A. Clark/Daily Advance |
| Coast Guard Lt. Michael Rasch talks with Elizabeth City Middle School eighth-graders at DRS Technologies during their visit to learn about local jobs Tuesday. |
At DRS, students watched metal workers in action and climbed aboard a C-130 transport plane. The company, which handles aircraft repair and overhaul for the Coast Guard, was a first-time Job Shadow host.
"Many of our employees are people right here from the area," said Dave Allen, deputy general manager.
Allen said some students have gone right from high school to the DRS' rewire facility. He said strong math skills are important for the kind of work DRS does.
Students touring Biggs Pontiac learned about the work done not only by salesmen and mechanics, but by title clerks and service managers as well.
"There's a lot of things in the car business that go on behind the scenes that you don't know about," said Cori Glover, customer relations director.
She explained that sales staff can make from $50,000 to over $100,000, depending on the commission they receive.
Job Shadow Day also included a career fair at Knobbs Creek Recreation Center. High school students were on hand to counsel the eighth-graders about which classes they should take for their desired career paths. Career ambitions among the middle school students were wide and varied, including everything from cosmetology to criminal investigation to pediatrics.
"It was helpful learning what classes we have to take to get to where we want to go," said Damon Raley, 13, a student at River Road Middle School with an interest in drawing and engineering.
Students differed on whether they would have to leave the area to work in their chosen profession. Raley said he will probably start off locally, then travel. But Kayla Carpenter, a 14-year-old at River Road who wants to enter the medical field, indicated there is enough in Elizabeth City to realize her goals.
"There are a lot of opportunities here," she said.
Craig Laughton, director of career and technical education for Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools, said some of the most popular fields for local students are business, agriculture and family/consumer science.
Laughton said Job Shadow Day gives students a look at different career paths ahead of high school registration. He said the career pathways that students adhere to throughout high school are used across the state.
