Career Day 2018

—Over 80 presenters, take part

 

Howard County - Over 80 presenters representing over 100 careers gathered at the Crestwood High School gymnasium Wednesday to talk with students in grades 5-12 at Crestwood Career Day 2018.
A wide variety of careers were represented, ranging from health services and construction to journalism and the military. Presenters answered prepared questions provided by the students, such as ‘What is your typical day?’ and ‘What do you most like and dislike about your job?’
Crestwood High School Guidance Counselor Trish Hartman said the Crestwood Elementary/Junior High and High School Guidance Department had organized the Career Day, and that schools other than Crestwood had also taken the opportunity to attend and have students meet with career representatives.
“We had fifth-12th grade students from Crestwood, in addition to fifth and sixth grade students from South Winneshiek and Notre Dame Elementary, so about 800 students,” she said.
Easton Gossman, a fifth grade student at Crestwood, said there were a couple of aspects to the Career Day he particularly appreciated:
“I liked learning about the salaries people made, and learning about mechanics at John Deere,” he said of the Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) program.
Hartman said she had good responses from participants.
“I heard a lot of positive comments about the careers represented and appreciation of support from the community to have all of these people here,” she said, noting it had been four years since the last Career Day. “We have a great turnout.”
Career Day presenter and Regional Health Services of Howard County Vice President of Operations Jennalee Pedretti said students who stopped by the hospital’s table were curious about the education level required to someday work there.
“The children were very surprised by the vast array of jobs that we have in our local hospital and clinic. We spoke to many of them about the different skills and education needed for the jobs. Some students said they want to go to college for two years only and they were wondering what they could do for a job with that level of education, and we would discuss the opportunities with them. The most common question I got from the students was asking for my best piece of advice. I told them, ‘Be kind, always strive to do your best, and always follow the rules. The same rules apply as an adult that your teachers are teaching you today. Those three things will make a large difference in your career as an adult, too.’ Many students seemed very surprised by my answer,” Pedretti said.
She assured students that jobs are available to students post-high school graduation no matter their subsequent education level:
“My goal is to let the students know about all of the different jobs at Regional Health Services of Howard County, so that even if they go away to college, they can move back someday and use their education. I also let them know that if college isn’t for them, we do have jobs that require no further education beyond high school and we offer on-the-job training to them,” Pedretti said.
 
Presenters
The presenters were divided into ‘Pathways’ based on the fields represented, including Arts & Communication, Business Management & Technology, Health Services, Human Services, Industrial & Engineering Technology, Natural Resources & Agriculture, Military and Bridging the Gap—School to Work.
 

Cresco Times

Phone: 563-547-3601
Fax: 563-547-4602

Address:
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214 N. Elm Street
Cresco, IA 52136

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