Experiencing Prospective Careers
   

EXPERIENCING A CAREER FIRST HAND

“Local partnerships do much more than just provide job insights. These partnerships help students connect school-based and work-based learning. Students begin to see the relevancy of what they are studying in the real world of work,” states Connie Gevinski, the School to Career Coordinator for the Riverhead Central School District.

The students at Riverhead High School get a number of opportunities to experience careers that interest them first hand. The following are just a few:

Child Development Class

Forty students in the Child Development class at RHS, who are planning careers in teaching, social work, psychology, child care and other child-related careers, were given the opportunity to learn about the stages of child development firsthand in the classrooms at Aquebogue Elementary School.

The students spent a day taking notes on the stages of development they observed in the classroom. They also shared a book or a teaching project that they had created in class with the students they were observing.

Future Teachers Teach a Class in Community

Over forty RHS students planning to major in elementary education in college next year or some time in the near future spent two days in an elementary school in the District teaching four units on “Community” to first graders as part of an ongoing alliance between the District’s School to Career program and the Junior Achievement (JA) program.

The future teachers spent a day themselves in a workshop taught by a representative from JA learning how to present the curriculum to first graders. All of the materials were provided by JA. "Family" and “Community” are two topics that first and second graders study as part of their social studies curriculum.

The teaching experience is just one of the many opportunities provided students by the School to Career program to help them with career planning before college or job training. Internships and job shadowing are two other opportunities (e.g., visiting BestBuy and Federal Express). These experiences make jobs and career choices “real”.

Shadowing and Mentoring

Middle School students travelled to Best Buys for a day of shadowing to learn about the retail and computer industries as part of their careers class. RHS students visited the Federal Express plant in Calverton to learn about career opportunities with Fed Ex or similar corporations. Almost 30 high school seniors attended a Mentor Breakfast as part of the School to Careers program. This program also initiates internships and part-time jobs.

Expanding Career Choices

Board of Education member Angela DeVito, an associate director for apprenticeship programs for the Building and Construction Trade Council of Nassau and Suffolk County, has been teaming with Riverhead High School’s Tech program to introduce students to a broader range of career choices by inviting members from the Trades to speak to the students in Bob Mills’ and George Schneider’s tech classes.

Union members from Local 138 (Heavy Equipment Operators), IBEW Local 25 (Electrical Contractors) and the Painters and Wallpaper Hangers Union visited the school to talk to the students about careers in those areas. The students learned that many of these trade areas finance the apprenticeship for those who are selected, and that they must be a high school graduate to qualify.

In March and April, the students are visiting the union sites. Twenty of 40 interested students travelled to Local 138, watched demo videos, learned about precautions at hazardous sites, donned hard hats and climbed aboard a trackhoe to dig a trench. When the ground thaws, another 20 will get this opportunity.

Later this month, 40 students will travel to Local 25 in Hauppauge to get an onsite look at how to become an electrical contractor.

A Positive Response

“I thought it was great,” said Matthew Deerkoski about his trip to Local 138. “I’d rather spend 8 hours on a trackhoe than 8 hours in school, but I know I have to do well in school to get that opportunity.”

Clubs, Internships and Part-Time Jobs

RHS is also adding a World of Construction class, a World of Construction club and will assist interested students in obtaining internships at these sites and others in the area. Prior to the summer, local businesses conduct a job fair at the high school, where students can fill out applications for summer and part-time jobs.