(by Don Meador)
For eighth graders at the James E. Bazzell Middle School (JEBMS), the selection of a career may seem like a long time off. Still, it’s not too soon for youngsters to get a glimpse of possible career choices as well as the pathway to fulfill their dreams. Last month, the opportunity to learn about careers and experience a small sample of what’s involved with that specific career was given to Bazzell eighth graders through a project called Southcentral Kentucky Launch (SCKLaunch).
“The Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce had been doing this for a couple of years until COVID put a damper on it for a couple of years,” explained JEBMS principal Melissa Towery. “It’s an opportunity for eighth graders across the region to be exposed to different careers. The students can get some ideas of what they will like to do once they graduate from high school.”
Learning about careers happens weekly across the Allen County School District. Preschoolers and Primary Center students enjoy visits from community service providers such as police, fire, EMS, and a wide range of individuals who share about their profession. The process continues through Intermediate Center days as community businesses and industries have opportunities to showcase what they do and how STEM (sconce, technology, engineering, and math) skills are vital to each career. At the high school level, students can explore career pathways, start their journey through classes at the Allen County Career and Technical Center, visit businesses and industries in Allen County and southern Kentucky, and experience an in-house career day plus hiring fair.
SCKLaunch for eighth graders builds upon what students have already learned as well as begins helping students explore career options.
“We are focusing more here at the middle school on helping our students to start getting ideas about their career,” Towery added. “We are not wanting the kids to say I’m going to be an electrician or a nurse when they leave eighth grade but we want them to be able to say about a career, ‘that’s really cool or ‘I want to know more about that. We also want to help our students discover their strengths and then see the jobs out there that they would be good at and enjoy based on those strengths and likes. This (SCKLaunch) is just another layer on top of what we have already been doing, getting our students exposed to different careers and what is involved.”
Towery added that this year’s SCKLaunch---held at the Knicely Conference Center in Bowling Green---featured many representatives from sectors such as health care, business, industry, and governmental services. Most had hands-on activities for students to interact and engage.
“One was cake decorating where kids had to draw a line of icing on a pattern,” Towery noted. “There were medical career representatives with technology where kids could perform virtual surgery, do CPR, learn about how a physical therapist would lift patients, and even look at how electrodes would be used to help stroke patients.”
JEBMS Instructional Coach Shelby Fisher helped coordinate the trip and added that the various displays included hands-on as much as possible.
“There was a display with an excavation simulator where kids were able to drive a vehicle to see what they were doing,” Fisher said. “It was very interactive. They have the police there and the kids could actually put on an officer's vest to see how heavy it way. Kids did fingerprint dusting. The fire department display included kids having to drag a victim.”
Towery also noted that the SCKLaunch event caught and kept the attention of her eighth graders.
“Our kids participated and were very present,” Towery said. “They asked questions, talked to people, and really took advantage of the event. They came back really excited and were able to talk about an area that really stood out. It was a very well-organized event by the Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce.”
The day opened students' minds to new avenues to consider.
“There was a whole lot of stuff,” noted student Gage Hale. “The area with Country Oven Bakery, Graves-Gilbert Clinic, Logan Aluminum, was my favorite. It was amazing. There were things I had never thought about, like construction. It’s kind of good. In a piping display, you learned about different types of piping and what purpose they served. You also could drive a forklift simulation. Also, the FBI and Bowling Green police were there. There was a lot of stuff there that I might like down the road.”
“I don’t think I want to be a surgeon,” added Kinsley Byrn based her experience trying to perform simulated surgery. But Byrn was quick to add that other areas of health care are appealing.
“Ever since I was little I have wanted to be in the medical field, “Byrn said/ “The favorite thing for me was when we went to the blood work area and see how blood was drawn. I also like the physical therapy area. They taught us about moving patients. They told us about how many years of school were required to get where they were now. Also the fingerprinting was pretty cool and what was inside the police cars and fire truck was also cool.”
This event is expected to not only get students thinking but also provide an idea to students of what the process could look like going forward in their educational pursuits, starting as early as next year as the student's transition to high school.
“Going to the high school, students will get a booklet with all the high school class offerings,” Towery pointed out. “If they got an idea in their heads, they can then start looking at a four-year plan. Also, looking at careers helps students to know if their career will require college or a tech school. The objective is to get kids thinking about the future.”
Going hand-in-hand with the SCKLaunch event is other opportunities students are experiencing this year at the middle school.
“We have a new program this year that helps kids look at their strengths and that’s a good connection to what they experienced,” added Fisher. “At the end of the year we will take the eighth graders to the high school and introduce career pathways. We have lots of opportunities to discuss with students their interests and what pathways they might want to explore.”
Students can explore careers through the Beable Program with Shaun Huff. Students can research different careers, learn about necessary training, the job requirements and process, and discover pay rates. Students have also been working to discover more about the local community---including business and industry---and will share their discoveries on an exhibition night on November 21. In addition, the spring semester will include the annual Reality Fair, a program through the UK Extension Service that asks students to consider the costs of life---costs such as insurance, raising kids, purchasing homes or vehicles, and many week-to-week needs.