Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
ALLIED HEALTH coordinator for GCC Claire Grzenia, left, discusses career opportunities within the medical field with Domynike Tabosa, a foreign exchange student from Brazil.
By BRYAN HELLIOS
Ironwood - Roughly 300 junior and senior high school students from Hurley, Gogebic and Ontonagon counties attended Career and Campus Exploration Day held at the Gogebic Community College on Thursday.
The Ironwood Chamber of Commerce, Michigan Works!, Michigan Rehabilitation Services and GCC organized the day to allow students the opportunity to talk to area businesses and tour the campus.
Director of admissions, marketing and community relations, Kim Zeckovich said the event allowed student to start planning for their future. She said students who decide on their career path early can begin by taking classes in high school to better prepare for college courses.
"We're so happy that so many business were able to attend this event today and to be a part of this, she said. "We think its a win-win for the businesses and the area students."
The career day started out with a few "ice-breaker" games to get the students engaged. Then the students gathered seven signatures from nearly 40 participating businesses for a chance to win a prize.
Many of the businesses also gave away small items to draw the students to their table. One company enticed students by having students fill a cup with sand within a specified time by using a remote control excavator. The cup was then weighed and the person with the most sand won a prize.
Director of McKevitt-Patrick Funeral Home, Chris Cody, said he did not expect a lot of kids to visit his table. He jokingly said next year he might have to have a remote controlled hearse where kids have to drive through an obstacle course. He hopes events like this allow students to see that business like his are needed and once trained, can get a job almost anywhere in the country.
"There might only be one or two kids here who would express interest in what we are doing, but we have a shortage of people in the industry," he said
Hurley middle school science teacher Dan Rye said events like this are important for students because it shows them jobs which are available.
"A lot of student don't know what options are available until they are exposed to them," he said.
Rye liked to see the business representatives talk about all the different aspects of their operations. He hopes students could see that employers are looking for a wide range of skills from their employees to make sure they are the right person for their company. He overheard a lot of the businesses talk to the students about how character and responsibility are important to be successful if working at their company.
"A lot of these businesses here they'll teach you everything you need to know to work in their industry," he said. "But you have to bring some things to the table that just aren't book smarts."
