HC bridging the gap between school and work

CADIZ—Harrison Central invited all local business owners and organizational leaders to the press box last Friday to continue their efforts of bridging the gap between students and the workplace. Vice President Todd Dunlap recapped their last meeting and invited various senior students to brief the group on their projects and job shadowing experiences. Many industries around the county were represented, as well as local law enforcement and area churches.

Dunlap shared the results from the professional survey they took from business owners during the last meeting, in which they were asked to rank the most important professional characteristics that could make or break a job interview. Overall communication and interpersonal skills won out on almost every survey. Work ethic and technical ability followed closely behind. Dunlap noted that Harrison Central is especially focusing on the verbal aspect of communication in the absence of technology. Attendees seemed interested and pleased with Dunlap’s positive update on the progress he has seen in students.

Dunlap continued to stress the importance of local businesses communicating and partnering with Harrison to provide a sounding board and opportunities for students to get real-world experience beyond the classroom.

“The whole goal of this luncheon and your involvement with us,” explained Dunlap, “is that we want to hear from local businesses; we want to keep you informed of what we are doing, and we want to collaborate on how we can get our kids further into the community.”

Harrison started encouraging job shadowing six years ago, and to date, the program has continued to expand to include more and more students and businesses. Treston Nemeth, a senior at Harrison Central, told his success story of the few days he spent working in his future field of civil engineering. Treston reached out to the owner (a friend’s father) of Engineered Foundations Solutions, a company that works with soil and firms up the foundations of homes using steel and other components, among many other services. After Treston watched the owner give a few estimates, he even put one together on his own. He explained the inner workings of the processes used to raise entire corners of houses and sure up sliding soil. Not only did Nemeth learn on the spot, but he also made valuable connections that could serve him well in the future.

“I’ve never heard of a high school that uses a program like this to help get kids out in the field…In the end, I think it’s been a beneficial program; I feel like I’ve gotten to see different aspects of what I might be doing someday, and it was confirming that it’s what I want to do when I go to college,” said Nemeth.

Samantha McIntosh, a teacher at Harrison Central, followed Nemeth to explain the benefits of the mock interviews held earlier this year, which some in attendance helped with by leading the interviews. In reference to another part of the professional survey given at the last meeting, the most common automatic disqualifiers in an interview were unprofessional attitudes, inflexibility, inappropriate dress, and lack of preparation or follow-through. Students were coached on how to avoid those mishaps and put their best foot forward. Dunlap noted that the feedback was mostly positive from both interviewers and interviewees alike.

“Thirteen students participated. They created resumes and cover letters prior to the interviews. Our feedback was mostly all positive, and the thing that we determined was that the students need to work on having questions at the end of the interview. We want them to think through the position fully and be sure to ask meaningful questions that will help them better understand the expectations and benefits of the position they may be stepping into,” noted McIntosh.

A few groups of students addressed the luncheon to explain the impacts of their senior projects, which ranged from clothing drives to gas card donations to local charities. Many of the representatives from organizations expressed their gratitude to the students for their hard work and the obvious difference their projects made on individuals and organizations alike, and the students noted the satisfaction they unexpectedly gained from being part of community solutions and finding purpose behind their school work.

Duran Morgan closed by saying, “We are very proud of [the students] and the school community. It is so humbling for me and everyone who works for the school to see their effort. I wouldn’t want to do anything else than to be here and see this, to be honest.”

Harrison Central is looking for businesses to host students as day shadows and interns. Contact the school if you are interested in becoming a partner. The next Business Advisory Council luncheon will be held in March.

“It’s great when we can work with people who are willing to throw them into the deep end. We are so appreciative of the people who allow those experiences to take place – some kids don’t know their path, and it’s always better to get them into something rather than nothing, so we appreciate any willing business,” explained McIntosh.