On May 17, the eighth grade class at Trigg County Middle School participated in Career Day. They had to dress neatly and shadow the person they were assigned to work with.
Many students enjoyed the day. Caleb Simmons went to the Cadiz Police Department. His favorite part of the day was turning on the siren in the police car and looking at some of the police officers’ weapons.
Alaysia Radford and Kriten Waldrop both went to Just Your Style. They said they enjoyed styling Ellie Jolly’s hair. Toddrick Wilson worked at the Rehabilitation Center at Trigg County Hospital. He received electroshock therapy and said, “It was cool.”
Nick Watkins worked at Stroud’s Barber Shop and his favorite part of the day was cutting his grandfather, Jerry Stroud’s, hair.
I spent Career Day at The Cadiz Record. My favorite part of the day was getting to see how a journalist works and seeing if that is a career I would be interested in doing in the future.
I believe all the eighth graders learned something about the career that they were assigned to shadow. Career Day was a fun, exciting and educational learning experience. Getting to shadow professionals while they were doing their jobs was a great experience for all of Trigg County’s eighth graders.
Cassie M. Whitt:
At some point in your childhood an adult must have told you that growing up is no easy task, and that is an inevitable truth. The real world is a scary place compared to the sheltered utopia of youth. Regardless, we do not have a choice in the matter; we must all, one day, face the life that comes with age.
On Thursday May 17, I and the other eighth grade students at Trigg County Middle School got a taste of the future. Through the school’s Career Day we were aided in discovering what life will be like when we are older and have our own jobs. Numerous businesses in Trigg County participated, and they allowed the students to work in their places of employment for a few hours.
All of the students received a list of the occupations available. We were then told to pick out our top three choices. After that came the hard part: job applications. It was a tribulation to get these done and filled out with no mistakes. I, out of my own love for words, immediately chose The Cadiz Record as my first choice for Career Day. Ethan Sweno and I were both chosen for the positions there. Hawkins Teague mentored us throughout the day. He gave us helpful insight on today’s job market and a clear view of what it takes to be a good journalist. I found that Career Day persuaded me even more to pursue a career in journalism.
Talking to my peers I discovered that they, too, found Career Day to be an extremely enlightening experience. Danika Patel, who spent Career Day at Save On Drugs, said that she plans on pursuing a career in pharmaceuticals because it was always her father’s dream. Shaylako Bourland and Damon Latham were both certain that working in the police force was ideal for them. Amber Harris, who got a chance to direct the school’s 7th grade band, was utterly convinced that a career in music was what she should pursue. Tyler Whitt and Macy Litchfield both informed me that making pizza at Minit Mart is harder than you think, and Macy said that Tyler’s few mishaps kept her laughing all day.
Overall, Career Day was an amazingly fun experience. It certainly helped the eighth grade students to learn something worthwhile. Now, perhaps we are all a little more prepared for the futures we face. Career Day has been a school tradition for many years. It is an opportunity to help the students in Trigg County be better people, better employees, and better prepared for whatever they may face in the future. Perhaps we will not all end up with the type of jobs we had on Career Day, but it helped us all to learn a little more about the importance of work ethic and how vital a single employee’s role is in a business’ success.
